


Return of the Fallen

by ErinPrimette



Series: Keeper of the AllSpark [4]
Category: Transformers (Bay Movies)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Dark Magic, F/M, Gen, Interspecies Relationship(s), Interspecies Romance, Older Man/Younger Woman, Resurrection, Robot/Human Relationships, Xenolinguistics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-01
Updated: 2015-03-16
Packaged: 2018-03-15 21:58:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 19,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3463529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErinPrimette/pseuds/ErinPrimette
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bailey and the Autobots have secured the AllSpark, forcing the Decepticons to resort to contacting an ancient enemy who is said to have long disappeared. This ancient fallen Prime makes a move to find a forbidden artifact that would allow him to unleash the apocalypse on Earth, so the Autobots have to stop him by using a technology left behind by the Ancient Primes. Sequel to Don't Lose Your Way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Battle in Shanghai

It has been over a year since Bailey first met the Autobots. During that time, Sector Seven had been renamed NEST, or Non-biological Extraterrestrial Species Treaty and the Autobots have kept Decepticon activity across the globe under control. Also, over the course of the year, the rest of the Autobots have learned of Bailey's relationship with Sentinel Prime; which surprised them, considering the species difference.

At the moment, Bailey was working on some concept designs as Sentinel just entered his living quarters while drinking from his energon cube, catching her attention.

"Hey, Sentinel," sang Bailey, "how are you doing?"

"I'm doing fine," replied Sentinel, "how is your portfolio coming along?"

"It's doing great," answered Bailey, "although I haven't found a gaming company I want to work for, yet."

"Despite the fact that you have a degree now?" objected Sentinel.

"Yeah," nodded Bailey, "but I'm getting there. I found someone who has an idea for a science fiction video game about a magical girl that fights alien invaders. I hope to help her make that idea a reality someday."

"Fascinating," mused Sentinel.

Sentinel finished his energon cube, so he sat down and picked up his data pad before beginning to read his latest eBook while Bailey continued to work on her designs. After a while…

"There," said Bailey, "now I'm done for a bit."

Bailey saved her progress and turned off her computer. She then turned on her PS4 and started playing Assassin's Creed 4. Sentinel groaned as the noise from the game began to annoy him.

"Bailey," reminded Sentinel, "could you put on your headphones?"

"Sorry!" blurted Bailey.

Bailey paused the game and plugged in the headphones before putting them on. She then continued the game with the headphones on, much to Sentinel's relief. After a short while, he heard a knock on the door.

"If it's Sideswipe or Sunstreaker," warned Sentinel, "I'll kick your aft later. Otherwise, come in."

The door opened, revealing Prowl.

"Thank Primus," sighed Sentinel, "it's not them. What can I do for you, Prowl?"

"Wheeljack has detected some Decepticon activity in Shanghai," reported Prowl, "Optimus and Lennox are gathering reinforcements as we speak."

"And you want me to come, too?" paused Sentinel, facepalming, "oh wait; you need the Pillars, don't you?"

"I could watch over Bailey for you while you're away," suggested Prowl.

"Just tell her where I am," advised Sentinel, "kicking Decepticon aft."

Bailey noticed Prowl's presence, so she paused her game and took her headphones off.

"You'll be ok," clarified Bailey, "right?"

"You bet your aft I will," assured Sentinel, "I'll bring you back a piece of scrapped Con for proof."

"Ok," smiled Bailey, "good luck."

Sentinel knelt down and kissed the top of Bailey's head.

"Since when do I need luck?" commented Sentinel.

Sentinel got back to his feet and stepped outside his living quarters after putting away his data pad.

"I don't mean to be offensive," asked Prowl, "I am merely curious. What do you see in Sentinel that has drawn you to him?"

"It's his kindness and his caring personality," admitted Bailey.

"He's a parent," replied Prowl, "it'll do that to you."

"Oh," clarified Bailey, "is it because he procreated Optimus and Megatron?"

"Yes," nodded Prowl.

Outside, Sentinel withdrew the Pillars from the vault and set them up while Optimus appeared with Arcee, Ironhide, Elita, Chromia, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. At the same time, Lennox and Epps appeared with a few military trucks loaded with some soldiers.

"Who is it this time?" asked Sentinel.

"We're not sure yet," answered Lennox, "but we do know that we have four Decepticons terrorizing the city."

"Then let's move it," suggested Sentinel, "four afts need to be kicked."

"Yeah, so that way you can spend your sexy alone time with your human girlfriend when you get back," teased Sideswipe, "right?"

"Oh, yeah," agreed Sunstreaker, "that's what I've been thinking, too."

"Make that _**six**_ afts," growled Sentinel, "or maybe I'll let Ironhide use you two for target practice."

"No," whined Sunstreaker, "not that!"

"Then show Sentinel some respect," reminded Ironhide.

Sentinel focused his optics on Ironhide.

"Thank you, Ironhide," praised Sentinel.

Sentinel turned to Sideswipe and Sunstreaker.

"You two are going to be helping Ironhide clean off his cannons after this," continued Sentinel, "maybe that'll remind you to respect your elders."

"And your Primes," added Ironhide.

"Yes," agreed Sentinel, "and your Primes."

Sentinel transferred the coordinates into the Control Pillar.

"Commencing transport!" announced Sentinel.

Sentinel pressed on the top of the Control Pillar, activating the space bridge.

"Sideswipe, Sunstreaker," called Sentinel, "make yourselves useful and let's go kick some skidplates!"

"Ok," sighed Sideswipe.

Sentinel, Optimus, Ironhide, Arcee, Chromia, Elita, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker led the soldiers through the space bridge, taking them to Shanghai.

"Come at me, Cons!" shouted Sentinel.

However, it turned out that there weren't any Decepticons in sight.

"What the frag?" paused Sentinel, "where are they?"

"They must be in hiding," assumed Optimus.

"All right," ordered Lennox, "start a search party! They could be scattered around the city."

"I think I can smell one here," added Ironhide.

"Where's it coming from?" asked Sentinel.

Ironhide didn't say anything, but he crept towards some debris. Suddenly, Demolishor leapt out of hiding, knocking Ironhide over. Sentinel began firing rapidly at the Decepticon with his new assault rifle. Demolishor began to flee the scene, catching Optimus's attention.

"Autobots," announced Optimus, "I'm in pursuit!"

Optimus was about to give chase, but Sentinel grabbed his arm.

"No," warned Sentinel, "now that you announced that, he knows to expect you. Besides, this one is right up my alley."

"Are you kidding?" protested Epps, "he's getting away!"

"No," grinned Sentinel, "he's doing exactly what I want him to."

The surprisingly agile old mech leapt up onto a rooftop, following the Decepticon, but somehow doing so without making a sound. Then, to everyone's surprise and amazement, including Demolishor's, Sentinel jumped down running a blade through the Decepticon's head. Demolishor had never even realized he'd been pursued, nor that he'd been attacked. He hadn't even had time to scream. Sentinel pulled his blade out of the dead Con and turned back to the others.

"Consider yourselves lucky," boasted Sentinel, "no one on Cybertron ever got to witness a Hunter in action."

"One down," remarked Ironhide, "three to go."

Ironhide, Optimus, Sentinel, the twins, Arcee, Chromia, Elita and the soldiers split up in search of the other Decepticons. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker managed to locate Sideways and they started chasing him.

"Yes," muttered Ironhide, "go annoy the Con, you two."

Ironhide, Arcee, Chromia and Elita One managed to locate Blackout and they began pursuing him.

Meanwhile, Sentinel and Optimus led the soldiers in the search for the last Decepticon.

"There's one more around here somewhere," muttered Sentinel.

Much to the elder Prime's luck, he and Optimus spotted Lugnut as the Decepticon tried to sneak away. Optimus jumped up onto a rooftop before pouncing on Lugnut. He stabbed his arm blade into the Decepticon's shoulder, causing him to shout in pain as he collapsed.

"Well done, _ma t'sonyu_ ," praised Sentinel, "well done."

Optimus jumped off of Lugnut as he stared into the Decepticon's optics.

"Any last words?" growled Optimus.

"This," croaked Lugnut, "isn't your planet to rule. The Fallen shall rise again."

Sentinel suddenly gave a startled look, as if he was frightened.

"That doesn't sound good," muttered Epps.

"Not today," glowered Optimus.

Optimus shot Lugnut in the head, killing the Decepticon.

"Who is this Fallen guy, anyway?" asked Lennox.

"He was once a great, powerful Prime," explained Sentinel, "but then he betrayed his fellow Primes and has been called _Gorkonse_ , 'The Fallen' ever since."

"I guess we can tell General Morshower about this guy when we get back," sighed Lennox.

Meanwhile, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker managed to catch up to Sideways and they cornered him in an alleyway.

"What do you wanna do with this one, Sunny?" asked Sideswipe.

"How about we blow its head off?" suggested Sunstreaker.

"Ok," nodded Sideswipe.

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker shot off Sideway's head, causing the now Decepticon corpse to fall to the ground.

Meanwhile, Ironhide, Arcee, Chromia and Elita were still pursuing Blackout. In the midst of the chase, Arcee transformed and shot at the helicopter blades. This sent him crashing down onto the ground.

"Scrap!" yelled Blackout, "you'll pay for that, you little wretch!"

Furious, Blackout charged at Arcee, but Chromia, Ironhide and Elita transformed and aimed their cannons at the Decepticons.

"You touch her," warned Elita, "you'll wish you were dead, Con!"

Blackout pulled out his cannon, but Arcee quickly fired at his shoulder, causing him to shout in pain.

"Thanks," smiled Arcee.

Ironhide stepped towards Blackout, cannons aiming at the Decepticon.

"Punkass Decepticon!" snarled Ironhide.

Arcee, Chromia and Elita noticed that Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Sentinel, Optimus and the soldiers just arrived at the scene.

"I guess," sighed Sentinel, "as the resident old guy, it's my job to complain. So will you quit yapping and just fraggin shoot him already?"

Ironhide nodded in agreement before shooting Blackout in the head.

"I hope you're happy," remarked Ironhide.

"I'm just doing my job," replied Sentinel, "now let's get the frag out of here before the press shows up. I don't speak Mandalorian, or whatever it is here."

Sentinel pulled out the small control and activated the space bridge. He led the Autobots and the soldiers through the portal, which took them back to base.

"Say, Ironhide," reminded Sentinel, "I think you'll need a set of two helpers to get your cannons clean."

Sentinel glared at Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, which sent chills down their spines.

"All right, Terror Twins," ordered Ironhide, "come with me."

"Get going, you two," warned Sentinel, "I own a cane and I know how to use it!"

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker nervously followed Ironhide towards his living quarters as Sentinel put away the Pillars.

"That oughta teach them," grumbled Sentinel.

"Yes," nodded Optimus, "but I'm rather worried as much as you are about Lugnut's warning."

"I know," agreed Sentinel, "I pray to Primus he was just trying to scare us."

Sentinel returned to his living quarters, where Prowl was watching Bailey play her game.

"Prowl," called Sentinel, "I'm back."

Prowl focused his optics on Sentinel.

"Ah," said Prowl, "welcome back, Sentinel. Bailey has kept herself entertained with her…game."

"I'm aware of that, Prowl," replied Sentinel, "I have optics. You are relieved of duty and dismissed. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Sentinel," smiled Prowl.

Prowl stepped out of the living quarters and Bailey noticed Sentinel's presence, causing her to pause her game and remove her headphones.

"Hey, Sentinel," chirped Bailey, "how was the hunt?"

"We nailed them," answered Sentinel, "I took one out Hunter style. He never even saw me coming until my blade was through him."

Sentinel pulled Demolishor's severed hand out of his subspace compartment and placed it onto the ground.

"Oh," clarified Bailey, "so that's your souvenir?"

"I said I'd bring something back," nodded Sentinel, "and I'm a mech of my word."

Smiling, Bailey sprinted towards Sentinel and hugged his leg.

"Heh," chuckled Sentinel, "I guess me and food are the only things that can make you pause a game."

Sentinel knelt down and gently picked up Bailey, allowing her to hug his face while she stroked the smooth wires that made up his beard. She could hear him make a deep purring sound that caused his neck to vibrate.

"Now, move over," requested Sentinel, "I demand a Mario Kart rematch."

"Ok," nodded Bailey, "just let me save my game."

Nodding in agreement, Sentinel lowered Bailey to the ground, allowing her to save her game and turn off the PS4. She then switched to the Wii U and put in Mario Kart 8.

"Ok," called Bailey, "I'm set!"

"I call dibs on Mario," replied Sentinel, "I'm not being Princess Peach again."

"Ok then," agreed Bailey, "I'll just pick Luigi this time."

Sentinel activated his holoform as Bailey pulled out the controls.

"You're going down this time," warned Sentinel.

"We'll see about that," remarked Bailey.

Bailey and Sentinel spent the next moment selecting a level in Mario Kart 8. They soon decided on Dolphin Shoals.

"Prepare to eat my dust," muttered Sentinel.

Sentinel and Bailey started playing the race course. Bailey may have started ahead of the elder Prime, but over the course of the race, Sentinel managed to race past Bailey and stay ahead, while she occasionally managed to catch up to him. However, he used a red Koopa shell to knock her over the moment she went ahead of him.

"Hey!" exclaimed Bailey.

"That's for bumping me off at the start," remarked Sentinel.

After the last lap, Sentinel managed to win the race course.

"Finally," smirked Sentinel, "I won! I told you I'd beat you this time, Bailey."

"I guess you're getting good at this," laughed Bailey.

Before Bailey could select the next level, she felt her stomach grumble.

"Hey, Sentinel," requested Bailey, "can we wait until after lunch for the next rematch? I'm starting to get hungry."

"All right, then," answered Sentinel, "I'll wait for you until after you're done eating."

Smiling, Bailey sprinted out of Sentinel's living quarters and towards the hangar, where she began making her lunch.


	2. Megatron's Resurrection

Soundwave and Shockwave have been waiting on the Moon for some time after hearing a message from a mysterious Cybertronian. After a long while, the mysterious Decepticon arrived, and both Decepticons somehow recognized him.

"So," asked the Fallen, "have you located Lord Megatron's body, yet?"

"No," answered Shockwave, "we've had no luck."

"I see," suggested the Fallen, "Soundwave, why don't you just hack into these humans' information network? Surely the location of him can be found there. Then I can use my Dark Energon to bring him back."

"As you wish," nodded Soundwave, "my liege."

"Now," replied the Fallen, "to find a use for the rest of you…"

Soundwave traveled back to Earth and pulled out Frenzy while standing only a few miles near a military base.

"All right, Frenzy," instructed Soundwave, "get in there, hack in, and find Megatron. And for your sake, do not fail me this time."

Frenzy sprinted towards the military base and carefully slipped through the gates without being detected. The tiny Decepticon spy wandered through the base until he found a building where he suspects is the location of the database. He slipped into the building unnoticed and wandered through the hallway until he reached a door to a room where only authorized personnel were allowed. Frenzy slipped through the door and found a mainframe. To his dismay, there were humans occupying the room.

"Scrap," muttered Frenzy, "what do I do now?"

Frenzy pulled out a noisemaker and tossed it out of the room. This noisemaker made an annoying sound which caught the humans' attention. They quickly left the room to investigate.

"Heh," snickered Frenzy, "that was too easy."

Now that the coast was clear, Frenzy hacked into the mainframe and through the files, he found Megatron's location. Satisfied, the Decepticon drone slipped out of the building unnoticed. He met up with Soundwave after escaping the base.

"We found Lord Megatron," reported Frenzy, "he's at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean."

"Very good," praised Soundwave, "I will mention your success to Lord Megatron when he returns."

Soundwave activated his com-link.

"I have located Lord Megatron," ordered Soundwave, "I will now send you the location coordinates. Decepticons, mobilize."

* * *

Meanwhile, Blitzwing and the Constructicons traveled to the Atlantic Ocean after receiving coordinates from Soundwave. It took the Constructicons several minutes to locate Megatron and several more minutes to drag his body out of the ocean. They brought him back to the Nemesis and laid him onto the berth in the medical bay, allowing Knockout to examine the Decepticon leader.

"Can't you animals clean him up first?" complained Knockout, "I don't want scum and barnacles all over my paint, I just waxed!"

"If you insist," sighed Breakdown, "Mr. Drama Con!"

Breakdown and Blitzwing spent the next half hour cleaning Megatron's body. When they were finished, the Fallen entered the medical bay with a shard of Dark Energon in his hand.

"This Dark Energon will take care of his medical needs," assured the Fallen.

The Fallen stepped towards Megatron's lifeless body while Knockout, Breakdown and Blitzwing stood aside.

"Arise," said the Fallen, "my disciple!"

The Fallen stabbed the Dark Energon shard into his chest. As anticipated, Megatron's optics came to life as he sat up.

"Master?!" exclaimed Megatron, "where have you been this whole time?"

"I spent many years sealed away before finally breaking free," explained the Fallen, "and finding a piece of the Forbidden Relic, which will be a key part of our plan."

"I'd like to hear more about it," replied Megatron, "after I find the treacherous slagger that tried to terminate me!"

"Never mind him," assured the Fallen, "he will be crushed like the rest of the weaklings who think they can oppose us. Only a Prime can defeat me."

The Fallen pulled out a piece of an ancient relic, which caught Megatron's interest.

"Of course," continued the Fallen, "we must find the other pieces to the relic, but with no Primes to stand in our way, it will be easy."

Megatron stood up from the berth.

"That's the problem," objected Megatron, "there are still two Primes out there."

"Two?" paused the Fallen.

"Optimus and Sentinel," clarified Megatron.

"Kill them both," advised the Fallen, "make them suffer."

* * *

Meanwhile, Sentinel and Optimus attended a meeting with Lennox, Epps, Mearing, Simmons, Colonel Sharp and General Morshower.

"You all wished to see us?" asked Sentinel.

"I was hoping we would discuss of the words of warning from one of the Decepticons during the hunt a couple of nights ago," explained Morshower.

"I am hoping that he was attempting to scare us out of further action against them," replied Sentinel.

"And what if he was right?" asked Simmons, "what if this Fallen guy really is here on Earth?"

"Then that means the Relic exists and we must find it," answered Sentinel.

"What relic?" paused Mearing.

"The Forbidden Relic," clarified Optimus, "the Fallen designed it to enable him to use Unicron against the Primes. This failed, and the other Primes sealed him away. They broke the relic into pieces."

"Sounds like we have a potential crisis," commented Sharp.

"Yes," nodded Sentinel, "especially since none of us has ever actually _**seen**_ the relic."

"Then maybe we could find clues on the relic fragments' whereabouts?" suggested Mearing.

"Excellent idea," agreed Sentinel, "Mearing."

"All right, then," replied Morshower, "you two are dismissed."

Optimus and Sentinel stepped out of the hangar and went to their separate living quarters. The elder Prime noticed that Bailey was writing in her notebook. Strange, before he left for the meeting, she was playing Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.

"I thought you were playing Zelda," commented Sentinel.

"I was," explained Bailey, "until I started seeing these symbols in my head."

"Symbols?" paused Sentinel, "what symbols?"

"I guess they're Cybertronian symbols," assumed Bailey, "maybe it's a side effect of wielding the AllSpark?"

"Let me see," requested Sentinel.

Upon cue, Bailey handed over the notebook, allowing Sentinel to read the contents carefully.

"Primus," gasped Sentinel, "it's a riddle."

"So the AllSpark has been giving me riddles?" commented Bailey.

"Ancient rod of adamant," muttered Sentinel, as he read the riddle, "for a dark ritual formed. A power from long ago will rise. Take heed, thou hast been warned."

"I don't remember that riddle," replied Bailey, "maybe it's a Cybertronian riddle?"

"Of course it is," nodded Sentinel, "you're seeing it in the Language of the Primes."

Sentinel let out a sigh.

"I had hoped the Decepticon was just making it up," continued Sentinel, "but it appears he really was warning us. This riddle, I believe, refers to the Forbidden Relic."

"Forbidden Relic?" warbled Bailey, "what's that?"

"The Forbidden Relic was designed to summon Unicron," explained Sentinel, "the Fallen designed it so he can use it against the Primes, but he failed and they broke off the pieces."

"Wait," paused Bailey, "wasn't the Fallen this guy who goaded Megatron into joining the dark side?"

"Yes," nodded Sentinel, "he was."

"And this Forbidden Relic you're talking about reminds me of the Black Materia Sephiroth used to summon Meteor," added Bailey.

Sentinel gave Bailey a blank stare.

"Oh," said Bailey, "I guess you've never seen me play Final Fantasy 7?"

"No," reminded Sentinel, "you forget, I read most of that time."

"Ok," asked Bailey, "do you think something bad is going to happen?"

"If the Decepticons find out about this," answered Sentinel, "then yes, most definitely."

Bailey gave a worried expression as she stood out of her seat, stepped towards Sentinel and hugged his leg. Sentinel activated his human holoform, and she let go of the ancient Prime's leg, allowing the holoform to wrap her in a protective embrace.

"If they want you," assured Sentinel, "they'll have to go through me, and that's a promise."

"I know," agreed Bailey.

Bailey returned the embrace and nuzzled her face against Sentinel's as he gently stroked her hair. The elder Prime softly kissed her on the cheek. Since they've grown closer over the course of the year, Bailey would usually find herself safe near Sentinel. She could feel the powerful sparkbeat pulsing against his chest. He shut his optics and gave the now familiar purring sound that he reserved for her and her alone. After a moment of silence, Bailey leaned her face closer to Sentinel's until her lips barely brushed against his. He took the hint and kissed her back.

"And to think you used to not believe in aliens," mused Sentinel.

"That's because I didn't think they'd exist," replied Bailey, "let alone contact us."

"Or that you'd fall for one," added Sentinel.

Bailey smiled before she continued to kiss Sentinel. The door to his quarters closed as she did. After a while, they broke off the kiss.

"Hey," asked Bailey, "do you mind if I return to my game?"

"Not at all," answered Sentinel.

Bailey released her embrace as Sentinel deactivated the holoform. She stepped towards her living space and returned to playing Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the deck of the Nemesis, Thundercracker and Skywarp found Starscream just standing there.

"Starscream," reported Skywarp, "there's something you need to know."

"What is it?" asked Starscream.

"Lord Megatron has returned," answered Thundercracker.

"Nonsense," scoffed Starscream, "Megatron is dead."

"But Knockout told us that he saw the Fallen revive Megatron," objected Skywarp.

"He did?" exclaimed Starscream, "scrap. Ok, if anyone asks, I'm dead. I'll close my side of the trine bond so they can't use you to find me. I'm going somewhere he can't get me."

"What will you be doing while you're away?" asked Thundercracker, "we've admired the way you've lead the Decepticons."

"Which is why Megatron must not find me," replied Starscream, "I can't lead again if I'm dead."

Starscream placed his hands on his trinemates' shoulders.

"And I promise you," continued Starscream, "I _**will**_ lead again."

"We'll miss you, brother," responded Skywarp.

"I'll miss you, too," assured Starscream, "but I won't be far away. I won't say where I'm going, in case someone is listening, but I know what I'm doing. After all, I've survived Megatron this long."

Starscream let go of Thundercracker and Skywarp's shoulders. He then headed towards the flight deck and took off, disappearing into the sky. Just then, Thundercracker and Skywarp noticed Barricade emerging from the ship.

"What do you want, 'Cade?" demanded Skywarp.

"Lord Megatron has given orders that we are to participate in the search for the pieces of the Forbidden Relic," explained Barricade.

Barricade took a look around and noticed that one of the Seekers is missing.

"Where's Starscream?" asked Barricade.

"Dead," lied Skywarp.

"Autobots," added Thundercracker.

"Oh," replied Barricade, "that's a shame."

"Yeah," nodded Skywarp, "especially if you're his trinemate."

"I understand," responded Barricade, "but Lord Megatron does not allow time to grieve for loss of simply a fallen comrade."

"He would if it were Shockwave or Soundwave," remarked Thundercracker, "he just hated Starscream."

"I hope you are ready for this next mission," instructed Barricade, "because Lord Megatron asked me to tell you to start finding the pieces of the Forbidden Relic in Brazil."

"We're on it," acknowledged Skywarp.

Skywarp and Thundercracker transformed and took off while Barricade went back inside the Nemesis.

* * *

Meanwhile, Bailey saved her game and turned off the Wii before snatching her notebook and pencil from the ground. She began writing down the symbols on her notebook, now that she started seeing them in her head once again.

"More symbols?" paused Sentinel, "same or different?"

"Maybe it's a new riddle or something," replied Bailey.

After she finished writing, Bailey handed over the notebook to Sentinel, allowing him to read it.

"Winding river, lead us on," said Sentinel, "through ancient forest from time now gone. Pierce like a dagger to the heart. Seek the treasure, or at least its part."

"Maybe it's a clue?" assumed Bailey.

"It sounds like it's leading us to the location of part of the relic," answered Sentinel, "and based on the description of a winding river and an old forest, I'll bet it's in the Amazon Forest."

"That's in South America," clarified Bailey, "right?"

"Brazil," agreed Sentinel, "yes."

"Does that mean you're going to try to get it?" asked Bailey.

"We have to," answered Sentinel, "or the Decepticons will."

"Ok then," advised Bailey, "be careful."

Sentinel stepped out of his living quarters while Bailey turned on her Wii U and began playing Kirby and the Rainbow Curse. Outside, the elder Prime approached Mirage.

"Mirage," requested Sentinel, "I need some reinforcements. I've located the first part of the relic."

"You got it, Sentinel," nodded Mirage.


	3. Seeking Treasure

Optimus wasn't sure why Mirage sent him a com-link requesting his presence, but it seemed that there might be Decepticon activity. He stepped out into the runway as Sentinel withdrew the Pillars from the vault and began setting them up. He could also see that Mirage, Prowl and Smokescreen were there, too.

"What's going on?" asked Optimus, "where are we bridging to?"

"To the Amazon Forest," answered Smokescreen.

"Sentinel said he knows where the first part of the relic is," explained Prowl, "we're going to try to beat the Decepticons to it."

Sentinel transferred the coordinates to the Control Pillar and then pressed on top of it, activating the space bridge.

"All right, then," announced Optimus, "let's roll."

Sentinel, Optimus, Prowl, Mirage and Smokescreen sprinted through the portal, taking them to the Amazon Forest.

"Ugh," groaned Sentinel, "we just got here and I'm fraggin' _**hot**_!"

Smokescreen and Prowl chuckled in response.

"Jazz would've cracked a hilarious joke at that," commented Prowl, "like 'Yeah, for a femme.' That's why you're only surrounded by mechs right now.'"

"I should smack you," replied Sentinel, "but you're right. That's exactly what he'd do."

Sentinel, Optimus, Prowl, Mirage and Smokescreen began searching the Amazon Forest for the relic piece. For a while, they haven't had any luck, yet. They eventually found the center of the forest.

"We have to be close," said Sentinel, "this thing is basically sitting in the center….the heart…..of the forest, which is what the riddle said."

"Was it Bailey who gave you the riddle?" asked Optimus.

"Yes," nodded Sentinel, "she's been seeing symbols in her head and writing them down. Thankfully, it's the Language of the Primes, so I can read it."

The Autobots approached a particular spot in the area and dug up the piece of the relic.

"Great," suggested Sentinel, "now let's get home. I can't stand this heat…"

Sentinel smacked at a bug flying near his face.

"This humidity," continued Sentinel, "or these Primus damn bugs!"

Before Sentinel could pull out the small control, Thundercracker and Skywarp appeared out of nowhere in front of the Autobots.

"Great," grumbled Sentinel, "more bugs."

"Let's swat 'em!" declared Smokescreen.

Sentinel, Optimus, Smokescreen, Mirage and Prowl aimed their cannons at Thundercracker and Skywarp.

"Sorry, Doritos," taunted Mirage, "finders, keepers!"

"Losers, weepers," added Sentinel, "say, where's the Nacho Cheese Dorito? I see Cool Ranch here."

"We're not Doritos," spat Skywarp, "and we're here for the relic fragment!"

"You sure look like one," smirked Sentinel, "and you're too late, Flyboy. We got it first. There's five of us and two of you."

"Do you think you can take us on?" beckoned Optimus.

"Old Fart's right, Skywarp," whispered Thundercracker, "especially since two of them are Primes."

"Scrap!" muttered Skywarp, "we should've called for reinforcements."

"Let's just go and say we didn't find it," sighed Thundercracker.

Thundercracker and Skywarp transformed and took off.

"Now let's get out of here," announced Sentinel, "before I melt."

"Come on," replied Smokescreen, "Cybertronians don't melt under climates like this one."

After Prowl picked up the relic fragment, Sentinel pulled out the small control and activated the space bridge. He led the Autobots through the portal, taking them back to the base.

"Ah," breathed Sentinel, "nice, cool, insect free New England air. Much better."

"What should we do with the relic fragment?" asked Mirage.

"Give it to Optimus," advised Sentinel, "we saw what happened the last time I held on to something valuable; I lost it to the Decepticons."

Prowl handed over the relic fragment to Optimus.

"I'll keep it in my quarters," said Optimus, "it'll be safe there."

Optimus returned to his living quarters while Sentinel sauntered towards his living quarters. He suddenly noticed that Bailey was just returning from the hangar with a small bag of Oreos and a glass of milk in her hands.

"Oh," chirped Bailey, "hey, Sentinel. I guess you got the relic fragment?"

"Yeah," nodded Sentinel, "Dumb and Dumber showed up, but then flew off."

"What a bunch of scaredy-cats!" laughed Bailey.

"Probably because they didn't have Nacho Cheese with them," replied Sentinel.

Sentinel and Bailey stepped into the quarters. She set the glass of milk onto the desk, careful not to set it near her laptop.

"I wonder what happened to Starscream anyway," pondered Bailey.

"Knowing him," answered Sentinel, "he's hiding from Megatron."

"I thought Megatron was dead," reminded Bailey.

"He is," replied Sentinel, "but Starscream might not know, since he ran off before Megatron was killed."

Bailey dipped an Oreo in her glass of milk and ate it.

"What do you think Starscream would do if he found out Megatron was dead?" asked Bailey.

"He'd probably do the Funky Chicken dance on his grave," assumed Sentinel, "and use the coffin for waste disposal."

Bailey laughed in response before dipping another Oreo in her glass of milk and eating it.

"He'd love it if the fragger died," continued Sentinel, "just….don't say something like that around Optimus. It still hurts him."

"Don't worry," assured Bailey, "I won't."

"Thank you," smiled Sentinel, "we can hate on Megatron, but there's no need to hurt Optimus when we do. The poor kid's been through enough in this Primus damn war….AAGH, fraggin' leg!"

Sentinel placed one hand over his leg since it apparently started acting up again. The old mech groaned in pain, limping over to his berth and dropping onto it like he was made of lead.

"Stupid piece of slag leg!" groaned Sentinel.

Bailey finished eating her Oreos and drank her milk. She approached the berth with concern in her eyes.

"Is your leg acting up again?" asked Bailey.

"Yes," answered Sentinel, "because it's a cheap piece of slag."

Bailey grabbed her 3DS and placed the game cartridge of Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon into the slot.

"Can I join you?" requested Bailey.

In response, Sentinel's drape fell over the side. Upon cue, Bailey climbed up the drape and laid down next to his face.

"Damn leg," muttered Sentinel, "reminding me that I'm old."

Bailey didn't say anything, but she turned on the 3DS and began playing her game. Sentinel sighed and shut his optics, his bad leg twitching. She continued to play her game for an hour or so before saving it and turning off the 3DS. She gently stroked the smooth wires that made up his beard. The next thing she knew, he purred softly. He didn't need his optics open to know she had stopped her game; he could feel it in her touch that he was her focus now, and only he. He wondered what he was going to do if she asked him to officiate and seal their bond. While continuing to stroke his beard, Bailey leaned in and hugged his face as she planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you," smiled Sentinel, "for that. It's nice to know someone besides Optimus can always see past the old age."

"You're welcome," replied Bailey, "I have to admit, you remind me of my grandpa."

"What?" paused Sentinel, "how?"

"My grandpa swears a lot," explained Bailey, "he has arthritis, which annoys him, and he used to be in the Navy."

"Ah," agreed Sentinel, "he does sound like me, you're right."

Bailey gave a soft smile as she continued to hug Sentinel.

"You're all right, human," murmured Sentinel.

This moment went on for a few minutes, and then…

"Can I ask you something?" requested Sentinel.

"What?" replied Bailey.

"Are you at some point planning to," asked Sentinel, "officially form a bond between both of us?"

"You mean as in sparkmates?" paused Bailey.

"Well, yes," nodded Sentinel, "but also making it official; like, legally on paper."

"Oh," clarified Bailey, "you're talking about marriage!"

"I was asking if you planned on it ever," explained Sentinel.

"I see," suggested Bailey, "maybe we could make our bond official later on. Even then, I'd like to try spark merging first before we have a wedding."

"Of course," acknowledged Sentinel, "I'm just unsure of how such things are done here on Earth."

"Maybe I could do research on weddings and bring the information to you?" offered Bailey.

"It's whatever you'd like," replied Sentinel.

Bailey let go of Sentinel's face, grabbed her 3DS and stashed it into the pocket of her cargo pants. She then climbed down the elder Prime's drape.

"I'll go get my dinner," called Bailey.

"All right," responded Sentinel.

Bailey stepped out of the living quarters and raced towards the hangar to make one of her meals from Dream Dinners.

* * *

Meanwhile, Thundercracker and Skywarp returned to the bridge of the Nemesis, where Megatron and the Fallen were waiting. They could see that Barricade, Knockout and Breakdown already acquired a few pieces of the Forbidden Relic.

"We found where it was," reported Skywarp, "but all we found were tracks."

"The Autobots must've found out about the relic and gotten to it before we did," added Thundercracker, "they were Cybertronian footprints."

"Then I want as many of us as possible out there searching," demanded the Fallen.

The Fallen focused his optics on Megatron.

"And Megatron," continued the Fallen, "you can wait no longer. From here on, your sole purpose is to kill those Primes! But make them suffer, and do not return to me without at least one of them dead. Now, go!"

"Of course, Master," nodded Megatron, "I'll have to set a trap."

"Do whatever you must," ordered the Fallen, "and take whomever you need. But I do not want to see you again until you can show me at least one of them dead."

Megatron left the bridge without saying anything. The Fallen carefully inspected the fragments, knowing that they only have nine left to go.

"Soon, Primes," muttered the Fallen, "you will both die."

The Fallen smirked, as he knew Megatron was now infused with the power of Dark Energon, making him stronger than ever.

* * *

Over the course of a week, Bailey provided Cybertronian riddles by writing down the symbols in the notebook the instant they popped into her head, and in turn, the Autobots traveled to the location and occasionally had to fight off some Decepticons to retrieve the fragments of the relic. Now, they had six fragments in their possession, and the question they had is whether they should assemble it or just destroy it.

At the moment, Bailey just finished eating her lunch and was about to continue playing Final Fantasy X, but she suddenly heard her smart phone going off, prompting her to answer it.

"Hello?" said Bailey.

"Hey, Bails," asked Clayton over the phone, "are you open for gaming night tonight?"

"Sure," nodded Bailey, "what are we going to play tonight?"

"I was thinking Mario Kart 8," answered Clayton over the phone.

"Oh, cool!" chirped Bailey, "can I bring over Sentinel?"

"Yeah," agreed Clayton over the phone, "I'd love to try racing against him."

"Ok then," smiled Bailey, "talk you later."

"Later," sang Clayton.

Bailey hung up before focusing her eyes on Sentinel.

"What?" paused Sentinel, "do I look funny? Are you challenging me to a staring contest?"

"I was wondering if you would like to come with me to gaming night," explained Bailey, "Clayton said that we'll be playing Mario Kart."

"The one game I understand?" clarified Sentinel, "I'm not missing that? Is it just him and you, so I know which holoform I can use?"

"Olive and Fred are going, too," answered Bailey, "and you're welcome to join in."

"Ok," confirmed Sentinel, "human it is. Are we going now?"

"Actually," replied Bailey, "it's this evening, remember?"

"Oh, right," acknowledged Sentinel, "sorry, I'm old. Glitchy processor."

"That's ok," assured Bailey, "my grandpa can be forgetful at times."

"That doesn't make me feel better," groaned Sentinel.

"Sorry," blurted Bailey, "I didn't mean to offend you!"

"It's all right," smirked Sentinel, "I'll kick your aft later…..Luigi."

"Ok," chuckled Bailey, "I'll take your word for it."

Bailey went back to her PS3 and continued playing Final Fantasy X.

* * *

Meanwhile, Clayton was busy with sewing together a dress while reading the directions of the pattern he created. He suddenly heard a knock on the door, prompting him to put away the unfinished dress before walking over to the door.

"All right," sighed Clayton, "who is it?"

Clayton opened the door, but he quickly realized that it was a bad idea since Ravage was waiting outside. The Decepticon drone pounced on Clayton, causing him to shout in fear and surprise.

"What the hell?!" shouted Clayton, "Get off of me!"

"I don't think so," sneered Ravage, "Lord Megatron is expecting you."


	4. It's to Die For

Later that afternoon, Bailey was putting her shoes on when her smart phone went off, again. She sighed as she answered it.

"Clayton," asked Bailey, "is that you?"

"No," answered Olive over the phone, "it's me, Olive. I have a situation right now. I'm being attacked by this psycho robotic bird."

"Wait," paused Bailey, "what?!"

"It's pecking on my car and I tried beeping the horn," explained Olive over the phone, "but it just won't go away!"

"Have you tried forcing it off by speeding?" suggested Bailey.

"Oh, hell no!" objected Olive over the phone, "I'm not going to risk getting busted by the cops for doing that."

"Well," replied Bailey, "there _**has**_ to be a way to get rid of your pest."

"That's why I asked you to…..wait a minute," exclaimed Olive over the phone, "why is that helicopter flying low? Oh, shit! It's about to—"

Bailey heard a loud crashing sound before the line turned off. After stashing her smart phone into the pocket of her cargo pants, Bailey sprinted outside in search for Sentinel. She found him in the hangar, as he was talking to Optimus.

"Excuse me," interrupted Bailey, "can I talk to you guys for a bit?"

"What is it?" asked Sentinel.

"I think Olive got attacked by Decepticons," answered Bailey, "she called me and told me that Laserbeak was attacking her car."

"Optimus," instructed Sentinel, "let's go! Bailey, call her phone so I can track it! Roll out!"

Sentinel ran for the gate, scooping up Bailey as he transformed into his alternate mode, his sirens clearing the way. She could see Optimus following Sentinel and transforming as well.

"Wait," objected Bailey, "don't you think we need reinforcements?"

"That's up to Optimus," replied Sentinel, "the longer we wait, the less likely your friends will survive the Decepticons."

"We'll call for reinforcements if we need them," added Optimus.

"Right," nodded Sentinel, "Optimus, look! It's Grindor!"

Sentinel raised his fire hose crane and pointed it at Grindor. Bailey could see the Decepticon carry a car with a tow cable.

"That's Olive's car!" gasped Bailey.

"Follow him," advised Optimus.

"I already am," replied Sentinel.

Sentinel and Optimus drove down the road, following Grindor into a forest. There, they could see Megatron, Blitzwing and Soundwave holding Clayton and Fred hostage.

"Oh no," whispered Bailey, "they captured Clayton and Fred, too!"

"Bailey," instructed Sentinel, "you try to get to them without being seen. We'll take care of the Decepticreeps."

Bailey made a glance at Megatron and her eyes widened in shock.

"Wait a minute," muttered Bailey, "I thought Megatron was dead."

"So did I," agreed Sentinel, "this is not good."

Sentinel and Optimus stopped at an area where the Decepticons couldn't see them. The elder Prime let out Bailey before transforming, and Optimus followed suit. Bailey crouched behind a tree and watched as the Primes approached Megatron, Blitzwing, Soundwave and Grindor.

"Oh, man," commented Fred, "we got more giant robots."

"Megatron," snarled Sentinel, "I thought I smelled a slag heap. What are you up to now?"

"I was wondering where your little pet is," smirked Megatron, "but it doesn't seem that you brought her with you. That's too bad, because today is your last day."

"You think I'm stupid enough to bring her to you?" thundered Sentinel, "COME HERE, YOU SLAGGER!"

Blitzwing, Soundwave and Grindor released Clayton, Olive and Fred to the ground.

"Decepticons," commanded Megatron, "attack!"

Blitzwing and Grindor charged at Sentinel and Optimus while Soundwave dispatched Ravage and Laserbeak.

"I'll take both of you out!" shouted Sentinel.

Sentinel pulled out his Primax blade and shield.

"Optimus," continued Sentinel, "don't let Megatron get away!"

Optimus brought out his energon blade and charged at Megatron while Sentinel slashed at Blitzwing, Grindor, Laserbeak and Ravage. Meanwhile, Bailey crept from behind the tree and beckoned Clayton, Olive and Fred to come closer.

"Wait a minute," paused Clayton, "Bails?"

Clayton, Olive and Fred sprinted out of the battlefield and joined Bailey behind the tree.

"You knew of these guys all along," accused Olive, "and you didn't tell us?"

"Sorry," Bailey blurted quietly, "it's a long story."

Meanwhile, Optimus and Megatron clashed their blades, optics glaring at each other.

"I don't know how you came back, Megatron," growled Optimus, "but your plans will not succeed this time, either! Taking the humans was a huge mistake."

"I was not expecting Bailey," replied Megatron, "but I was expecting you and Sentinel, so I can terminate both of you!"

"It is you who will be terminated, Megatron!" yelled Optimus.

While Sentinel dispatched Ravage by cutting off his head, Megatron broke off the clash, threw Optimus into the trees and kicked him in the face, his battle mask flying off in the process.

"Optimus," called Sentinel, "hold on!"

Sentinel fought harder to dispatch his remaining opponent so he can help his son. He managed to sever Blitzwing's arm and use it to smack Laserbeak out of the way. Optimus struggled to get back up, but Megatron shot him in the shoulder, sending him crashing into the ground. While still struggling to get back to his feet, the Autobot leader spat out a piece of his jaw.

"I'm coming, Optimus," shouted Sentinel, "leave him alone, Megatron!"

Sentinel charged at Megatron and tackled him to the ground, allowing Optimus to get back to his feet.

"I should've killed you before," growled Sentinel, pinning Megatron to the ground, "I don't plan to make that mistake again."

Sentinel raised his Primax blade high into the air, but before he could plunge it into Megatron's chest, Grindor fired a shot at Sentinel, causing him to shout in pain. The Decepticon leader seized the chance and freed himself before shoving the elder Prime aside. However, he could see Optimus bring out both energon blades.

"Persistent?" commented Megatron, "aren't you?"

"You'll never stop at one," roared Optimus, "I'LL TAKE YOU ALL ON!"

Optimus charged at Grindor and ripped his head off with his energon blade before charging at Blitzwing. Sentinel couldn't help but be proud of his son as he took on the Decepticons. The elder Prime got to his feet, but he'd been struck in his bad leg. Still, he limped towards Megatron, ignoring his bleeding shoulder for the moment. However, he realized that the Decepticon leader charged at the Autobot leader, which worried the elder Prime. Optimus pinned down Blitzwing and was about to finish him off, but suddenly, Megatron grabbed him from behind. Sentinel watched helplessly as the Decepticon leader murdered his younger brother by stabbing him in the chest and shooting through it. An agonized scream tore through the air, Sentinel not realizing it was his own as he shot forward and collapsed to his knees, holding Optimus in his arms, his tears already coming out as he hugged his child against him.

"S-Sentinel," gasped Optimus in a hoarse voice, "I-I—"

Optimus couldn't say anything further as his optics turned black. Soundwave seized this chance and yanked Sentinel backwards and restrained him, forcing him to drop Optimus. Megatron seized the chance and ripped the Matrix of Leadership out of the Autobot leader's chest. The Decepticon leader then aimed his charged cannon at the elder Prime, but before he could fire, Ironhide showed up and fired at Soundwave, forcing him to let go. Prowl, Smokescreen and Bumblebee also arrived at the scene, ready to fight. Sentinel immediately returned to Optimus, sobbing as he held his son's body, oblivious to everything around him as he screamed in anguish at the sky. The Autobots managed to drive out the Decepticons, but could now watch as the elder Prime grieved for their beloved leader. Bailey emerged from the trees, tears in her eyes, since she witnessed the death of Optimus. She slowly stepped towards Sentinel, not paying attention to the fact that Clayton, Olive and Fred emerged from hiding to investigate the scene of the battle.

"Sentinel?" whispered Bailey.

Sentinel didn't say anything, but he sobbed harder, agonized words of his own language mixed with his loud cries, which caught every Autobot's attention. Ironhide especially was saddened and angered seeing his oldest, best friend dead at the hands of the Decepticons.

"Elita is not going to be happy when she finds out about this," muttered Prowl.

"That's the least of our worries," replied Ironhide, "we have one Prime dead and the other spark broken, riddled with grief. Though, I can't blame him. It's always saddest when a parent outlives their child. And now he's lost all he had left of Alnai, too."

"Should we head back to base and tell the others about this?" asked Bumblebee.

* * *

The Autobots eventually returned to base, taking Sentinel, Optimus, Bailey, Clayton, Olive and Fred with them. While Ratchet repaired Sentinel's wounds in the medbay, Prowl summoned Mearing, Elita, Arcee, Chromia, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Wheeljack and Mirage and told them of the Autobot leader's passing.

"Oh no," gasped Elita.

"You saw Sentinel when we came back," reminded Ironhide, "didn't even realize he was bleeding. He wouldn't be like that if it weren't. I'm so sorry."

Inside the medbay, Sentinel was unable to remain still, his body still reeling, but for once Ratchet didn't complain about it. He knew the old mech didn't need to be yelled at right now.

"I'm so sorry for your loss, Sentinel," sighed Ratchet, "I didn't think Megatron would set up such a trap."

"I," sobbed Sentinel, "n-nev-ver...r-real-lized-d...my son...h-h-had fallen...th-that f-f-f-far..."

Ratchet didn't say anything, but he finished repairing the elder Prime's wounds.

"There," advised Ratchet, "now, why don't you get some rest?"

Sentinel nodded and stood to his feet before shuffling out of the medical bay. He sauntered over to his quarters and noticed that Bailey was waiting for him.

"Sentinel," bleated Bailey, "I'm sorry. I wanted to help, but I couldn't."

Sentinel shook his head in disbelief.

"I failed Optimus," muttered Sentinel, "I told him, promised him I would protect him. And I failed."

Sentinel led Bailey inside the quarters, scooped her up and rested on his berth.

"Sentinel," said Bailey, "if you're not in the mood to go with me to gaming night, I understand."

"I'll just bring everyone down," fretted Sentinel, tears flowing down his optics.

Bailey nestled into Sentinel's shoulders and hugged his face, not caring if she'd get wet from the tears. The elder Prime didn't say anything, but he still wept. Bailey gently stroked the smooth wires that made up his beard.

"I-I liked him, too," whispered Bailey.

"I told her I would protect him," replied Sentinel.

"If only I hadn't told you and Optimus about Olive," sighed Bailey, "and went to another Autobot instead, then maybe none of this would've happened."

"A life would've still been lost," objected Sentinel.

"You mean," clarified Bailey, "there was nothing I could've done to prevent it in the first place?"

"No," answered Sentinel.

Bailey gave Sentinel a kiss on the cheek, hoping to comfort him.

"I'm so sorry, Alnai," whimpered Sentinel, "I'm so, so sorry."

Bailey nuzzled her face against Sentinel's, sympathy and sadness glistening in her eyes. The elder Prime simply lay there, with no motivation to move.

"Sentinel," requested Bailey, "can I kiss you, that way you'd feel a little better?"

Sentinel nodded and activated his holoform. Upon cue, Bailey wrapped her arms around the holoform and gave him a soft kiss. However, it was obvious his spark just wasn't in it. Realizing this, she simply let go of the holoform.

"Sorry," muttered Bailey.

"It's ok," assured Sentinel softly, "you go have fun with your friends."

Nodding in agreement, Bailey wiped her tears and climbed down Sentinel's drape while he deactivated the holoform. She left the living quarters and joined up with Clayton, Olive and Fred.

"…So long story short," concluded Clayton, "Bailey and I have been friends with these Autobots for around a year now."

"I'm still confused," asked Fred, "what just happened?"

"I guess Megatron kidnapped us and used us as bait to lure Sentinel and Optimus into a trap," explained Clayton, "you saw how Optimus died, right?"

"The blue one with the flame job?" nodded Olive, "yeah."

Clayton noticed Bailey's presence.

"Oh! Hey, Bails," chirped Bailey, "are you ready for gaming night?"

"Yeah," nodded Bailey, "but Sentinel's not in the mood to go."

"Why not?" pondered Fred, "wait, Sentinel's the big red one, right? The one that sounds like Bailey's granddad?"

"Yeah," answered Bailey, "he has a holoform named Samuel Prior."

"And a holoform is a hologram used by the Autobots," added Clayton, "but I heard that the Decepticons can use them, too."

"So, what's wrong with him?" insisted Fred.

"Sentinel is feeling devastated after watching his son die recently," explained Bailey.

"Wait," paused Olive, "so that Flame Job was Big Red's son? Wow."

"Yeah," nodded Bailey, "giant alien robots can reproduce like we can."

"Poor Sentinel," sighed Olive.

"So how are we going to get to Clayton's place?" reminded Fred.

Bailey could see Bumblebee emerge from the hangar and approach the human quartet.

"We could always ask Bumblebee," suggested Clayton.

"Cool!" smiled Fred.

"No problem, Clay," chirped Bumblebee.

Bumblebee transformed into his alternate mode, allowing Bailey, Clayton, Olive and Fred to hop in. The yellow Camaro drove out of the base and down the road on the way to Clayton's apartment for gaming night.


	5. The Stolen Fragments

On the bridge of the Nemesis, the Fallen watched as Megatron approached him with the Matrix of Leadership in his hand.

"Master," reported Megatron, "I bring proof that Optimus is dead."

"Good work," praised the Fallen, "but still, be wary of Sentinel. He is old, but he is much more powerful than Optimus due to his age and experience. He may be broken for now, but he is still a dangerous enemy."

"Of course," agreed Megatron, "Master."

The Fallen plucked the Matrix of Leadership out of Megatron's hands.

"I want Sentinel dead, too," demanded the Fallen.

"Yes," nodded Megatron, "I know."

"You should also find a way to steal the other pieces of the relic from the Autobots," added the Fallen.

"Of course," suggested Megatron, "my lord. Maybe we should find the base and kill two birds with one stone?"

"Excellent idea," smirked the Fallen, "Megatron."

Megatron left the Nemesis, hoping to find an NEST member so he can put a tracer on him. He settled down on a beach in Japan while thinking over his actions. Suddenly…

"My," commented a manly voice, "you must be one of those Decepticons I hear of, hmm?"

Megatron focused his optics on a Japanese man with a flamboyant haircut.

"And who are you, insect," barked Megatron, "to dare approach the mighty Lord Megatron?!"

"Ah," replied the man, giving a Japanese bow, "I should introduce myself. My name is Saburou Ozaki, leader of the Patriarch Syndicate."

"I don't care who you are or what you are," growled Megatron, "your kind are worthless to me. I should eliminate you now, fleshling."

"And what if I wanted to help you with whatever you need?" mentioned Saburou.

"What could you possibly have to offer me?" scoffed Megatron.

"I can help you find where your enemies are hiding," offered Saburou, "and I hear that your enemies have enlisted my sister, Akane."

"The one with half my AllSpark?" paused Megatron, "that wretched thief!"

"Oh," smirked Saburou, "so she _**has**_ been a bad girl, hasn't she? Maybe we can place a tracking device on her so she could lead us to the base."

There was a moment of silence, as Megatron realized that maybe this human has found a way to the Autobots' base.

"All right," insisted Megatron, "I'm listening. How do you intend to do that?"

"We wait for Akane to arrive at the airport in America," suggested Saburou, pulling out a crossbow and presented it to Megatron, "and then I fire the tracking device on her, using this weapon in my hand. Then when she arrives at the destination, we record it and I let you lead the attack."

"Can you find a more subtle way?" objected Megatron, "I need her alive and unharmed, or else Ratchet will immediately find us out. I need her to have no idea she's being tracked."

"This weapon is not designed to kill her," assured Saburou, "unless you have a better option for the plan."

"You know human technology better than I," advised Megatron, "so I'll leave that to you. But it is imperative that she not be harmed in any way and that she does not know she has a tracer on her. Am I understood?"

"Of course, Megatron," nodded Saburou, "could you take me to Akane's destination, and can I have a look at that tracer of yours?"

* * *

A couple of days later, Akane stepped out into the terminal of the airport after a long trip from Japan. As far as she knew, she received a call from Mearing concerning the warning about the Fallen and of Optimus Prime's passing. She could see a few NEST soldiers, including Lennox and Epps, waiting for her and her butler.

"Welcome back," said Epps, "Miss Ozaki."

"Thank you for such kind words," smiled Akane, "has Sentinel been doing well?"

"No," answered Lennox, "he has been grieving for a couple of days, now. Bailey is still trying to comfort him, though."

"She is such a kind and sympathetic person," smiled Akane, "I can imagine Sentinel's pain could be worse than mine when I lost my father."

"Poor guy's lost his fight," sighed Epps, "he won't even yell at the Terror Twins anymore. I'm actually kind of worried about him. He seems almost…..sick."

"That doesn't sound good," commented Akane.

"He's not himself anymore," agreed Epps, "he's like a zombie or a hollow shell of himself."

Akane didn't say anything further, but she, her butler and the NEST soldiers meandered through the terminal and reached the baggage claim, where she retrieved her luggage.

Outside, Saburou found one of the silver cars with the Cosmosis sign on it. He crept closer to the car without being seen before pulling the tracer out of his pocket. He knelt down and attached it underneath the car, and then crept away into hiding while Akane, her butler and the NEST soldiers emerged from the airport. While crouching behind a bush, he heard his smart phone go off, prompting him to answer it. Yet, it was only a text message.

"Well done, insect," read the text.

Saburou noticed that Megatron sent the text after reading it.

"Heh," chuckled Saburou, "now I can watch that bitch suffer, soon."

Akane, her butler and the NEST soldiers hopped into the car.

"So," asked the driver, "are you ready to head to base?"

"Yes, please," nodded Akane.

The driver drove out of the airport and down the road until they reached the NEST base. There, they could see Ironhide conversing with Mearing, General Morshower and Colonel Sharp. Akane hopped out, followed by Lennox and Epps.

"What's going on?" asked Akane.

"We were thinking of a plan to infiltrate the Nemesis and recover the Matrix of Leadership," answered Ironhide, "according to Bailey, she saw Megatron rip it out of Optimus's spark chamber before he escaped."

"I'm still confused as to what we're gonna do if we get this Matrix thing," replied Morshower, "don't we need a blue pill and a red pill?"

"Wrong Matrix, General," groaned Ironhide, facepalming.

"According to Optimus," explained Lennox, "the Matrix is what makes its bearer a Prime."

"So what are we gonna do with it?" asked Morshower.

"We could try returning it to Optimus," answered Ironhide, "and see if it revives him. I saw Bailey repair him with the AllSpark, but it didn't bring him back."

"That'll fix Sentinel, too!" agreed Epps.

"It sounds like she is trying to make Sentinel happy again," commented Akane.

"I still don't get what she sees in him," replied Mearing, "but I do feel sorry for him. No parent should outlive their child."

"So which Autobots are going to infiltrate the Nemesis?" asked Sharp.

"That's up to them to decide," answered Mearing.

Akane noticed that Bailey emerged from Sentinel's quarters and upon laying her eyes on the Japanese woman, she sprinted towards her.

"Akane," called Bailey, "you're back!"

"Yes," nodded Akane, "how are you doing?"

"I'm doing fine," replied Bailey, "but Sentinel's still depressed."

"Was it your idea to infiltrate the Nemesis?" mentioned Akane.

"Yeah, I guess," admitted Bailey, "I know that the Decepticons have it, so I thought maybe we could get it back and take the relic fragments from them at the same time."

"Not a bad idea," smiled Akane, "but who's going to be the one to do it?"

Bailey stammered for a moment before focusing her eyes on Ironhide.

"Hey, Ironhide," requested Bailey, "can we find some volunteers to do the job?"

"I'll ask around," assured Ironhide.

"Thanks, Ironhide!" chirped Bailey.

* * *

Later that night, Bailey just finished eating her dinner and returned to Sentinel's living quarters. The old mech was still and silent in the dark, as though he were made of stone. Anyone could've walked in and never known he was even there. She climbed up his drape and sat on his chest while gazing into his empty optics, concern in her eyes.

"Sentinel," asked Bailey, "can you hear me?"

He didn't speak, but his audial twitched at the sound. He held a piece of Optimus's armor, which had been knocked off in battle, against his spark, along with what looked like the young Prime's blue sparkling blanket.

"Oh," breathed Bailey, "you still miss him, don't you?"

"He was all I had left," sighed Sentinel, "and now he's gone."

Bailey leaned closer and gently hugged Sentinel's face.

"I was too slow," murmured Sentinel, "you were right. I should have brought the others. It's my fault he's gone. It's all my fault."

"I don't blame you," assured Bailey, "maybe if the Decepticons hadn't kidnapped my friends, Optimus would still be alive."

"Damn you, Megatronus _Gorkonze_ ," snarled Sentinel, "damn you to the Pit!"

Suddenly, before Bailey could say anything, she heard a loud crashing noise from outside, prompting her to sit up.

"Huh?" warbled Bailey.

Just then, Bailey noticed Ironhide enter the quarters.

"Sentinel," shouted Ironhide, "the Decepticons are attacking the base!"

Sentinel didn't seem to hear, but he got a sick look.

"I don't know if Sentinel is in the right mood to fight," replied Bailey, "but we can still protect him and the relic fragments!"

"Right," nodded Ironhide, "you go get anyone else you can find."

Bailey climbed down Sentinel's drape and sprinted out of the quarters. Outside, she could see Megatron, Blitzwing, Knockout, Thundercracker, Skywarp, the Fallen, Breakdown, Barricade and a couple of Vehicons fighting Bumblebee, Arcee, Chromia, Elita, Smokescreen, Wheeljack, Prowl, Mirage, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker.

"How did they find out where the base was?" gasped Bailey.

"Let's worry about getting them out, first," suggested Ironhide.

"Ok," nodded Bailey, "which one should I Mega-Upgrade?"

"Any of them," suggested Ironhide.

Nodding, Bailey pressed on the gem of her bracer and let it charge up for a moment before rising her fist into the air. A light inside Ironhide's spark engulfed him and changed his form, and now he had rocket launchers on his shoulders.

"AAAAAWWWWW, YES!" cheered Ironhide, "COME GET SOME, PUNKASS DECEPTISLAG!"

Ironhide charged at Breakdown and knocked his arm hammer off by firing a rocket at it.

"Heh," smirked Ironhide, "I love these already."

Ironhide continued to fight Breakdown while Bailey focused her eyes on the Fallen, trying to stay hidden so he wouldn't see her.

"So that's the Fallen?" whispered Bailey.

To Bailey, the Fallen was bigger than even Megatron, and seemed to radiate evil like a sun. She quickly slipped back inside the quarters and focused her eyes on Sentinel.

"Sentinel," called Bailey, "I think I saw the Fallen outside!"

Upon cue, Sentinel instantly sat up.

"That fragger had the nerve to come _**here**_!?" roared Sentinel, "WHERE IS HE!? I'LL KILL HIM!"

Bailey had never seen Sentinel in such a rage as he got up and stormed outside, his Primax blade and shield at the ready. She raced outside and saw the elder Prime charge at the Fallen. Without hesitation, she pressed on the gem of her bracer and let it charge up for a moment before raising it high into the air. The next thing everyone knew, there was a deafening roar as a huge red dragon slammed into the Fallen.

"Sentinel?!" exclaimed the Fallen.

"I cannot kill my son who was corrupted by you," Sentinel growled as his optics were like small blue flames, "but I can kill you!"

Sentinel loosed a spray of flame that engulfed the ancient Decepticon. Unbeknownst to either of them, Megatron blew a hole in Optimus's quarters and stepped inside. He found the pieces of the Forbidden Relic inside one of the drawers.

"Stupid Autobots," smirked Megatron.

Megatron took out the pieces of the relic and stepped outside as Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were tormenting Knockout by scratching his paint job. The Decepticon leader activated his com-link.

"Master," reported Megatron, "I have the fragments!"

"Excellent, my disciple," praised the Fallen over the com-link, "now let me eliminate Sentinel before we leave."

"If I may suggest, Master, you wanted him to suffer?" suggested Megatron, "let him watch as everything is destroyed when your plan is complete, knowing he is powerless to stop it."

"Of course," agreed the Fallen over the com-link, "that's where we will summon Unicron to carry out the plan."

The Fallen managed to free himself from Sentinel's grip as the Decepticons retreated.

"YOU COWARDS!" shouted Sentinel.

Megatron approached the Fallen with the fragments in his hands.

"Oh, frag it," exclaimed Elita, "they have the relic pieces!"

"I will spare you, old mech," warned the Fallen, "but only so you can watch this entire wretched planet _**burn**_!"

Sentinel's optics widened in horror as the Fallen and Megatron left the base. Of course, Bailey also heard the warning, which worried her. She deactivated Ironhide and the elder Prime's Mega-Upgrades.

"What does he mean by that?" asked Bailey.

"To put it in human terms," clarified Sentinel, "all hell will break loose."

"I'm still wondering how the Decepticons were able to find the base," mentioned Smokescreen.

"Maybe they sent a spy to place a tracer on one of the military vehicles," assumed Arcee.

"Check every vehicle here," commanded Sentinel, "military or not."

The Autobots scrambled to inspect the military vehicles scattered across the base while Sentinel noticed that tears were rolling down Bailey's face. The elder Prime knelt down to her level.

"Bailey," asked Sentinel, "are you all right?"

Bailey sprinted towards Sentinel, hugged his leg and buried her face into it as she began breaking down in tears.

"I'm scared, Sentinel," cried Bailey, "I'm not ready to die yet!"

Sentinel gently picked her up and held her close to his face, so she was looking into the blazing wildfires that were his optics.

"You will not die," assured Sentinel, "not while I function. This I promise you, Megatronus has underestimated me yet again. Let him come, there is still one Prime yet on Earth who still draws breath."

Bailey nodded in agreement and then hugged Sentinel's face. The elder Prime stood to his feet and focused his optics on the rest of the Autobots.

"We will _**all**_ defeat him," declared Sentinel, "for Optimus!"


	6. Collision Course

On the deck of the Nemesis, Saburou, Thundercracker, Skywarp, Barricade, Knockout, Breakdown, Blitzwing, Shockwave, Soundwave and several Vehicons watched as Megatron and the Fallen assembled the fragments of the Forbidden Relic.

"So that's the Forbidden Relic that Megatron is talking about," mused Saburou, "interesting."

"Anyone want to explain why there's a meatbag here?" asked Knockout.

"Maybe he's betraying the humans," assumed Barricade.

"Does it matter?" replied Breakdown, "Megatron brought him, and that's all you need to know."

Megatron finished assembling the Forbidden Relic and handed it over to the Fallen.

"At last, Master," said Megatron, "it is complete."

The Fallen placed the Matrix of Leadership into a slot of the Forbidden Relic. He spoke in a strange, dark, and twisted language that sounded evil even to the Decepticons. It was the tongue which was reserved only for those who were devoted to the Chaos Lord himself. In response, the relic shot a glowing beam high into the sky, reaching as far as outer space.

"Oooooooohhhhhhh," crooned the Decepticons aboard the bridge.

The beam of light teleported a massive metallic planet-like structure into existence. This structure began hovering its way towards Earth, although rather slowly.

"So," pondered Skywarp, "now what?"

"We wait for Unicron's arrival, I guess," suggested Thundercracker.

"Ok," nodded Skywarp.

* * *

The following day after the Decepticons raided the base, Sentinel, Prowl, Ironhide and Bailey met up with Akane, Mearing, Morshower, Sharp, Lennox, Epps and Simmons in the hangar.

"If only I had the car inspected before entering the base," sighed Akane, "maybe none of this would've happened."

"Hey," assured Bailey, "I don't blame you, Akane."

"What I found interesting," mentioned Sentinel, projecting a video from his optics, "was this."

The video from the airport security camera showed Saburou placing the tracer underneath the car.

"Obviously not a Decepticon," continued Sentinel.

"SABUROU?!" exclaimed Akane, "THAT TREACHEROUS BASTARD HAS DOOMED US ALL!"

Sentinel covered his audials.

"Primus, woman," groaned Sentinel, "I'm not deaf!"

"That must explain why the Decepticons now know the location of the base," commented Morshower.

"Put a warrant out for that man's arrest," ordered Mearing, "do whatever you have to do to bring him in. Notify the public that he's armed and dangerous. Do not allow him out of the country."

"You got it," nodded Lennox, "I'll notify the FBI while I'm at it."

Lennox pulled out his smart phone and began calling the FBI.

"I want Autobots on guard at all times," added Mearing.

"Yeah," agreed Simmons, "especially since I got a call from NASA saying that they discovered a massive object on a collision course this morning."

"No," gasped Sentinel, "it can't be….Unicron!"

"What is this Unicron, anyway?" asked Epps.

"The Chaos Bringer," clarified Prowl, "you would call him our equivalent of Satan or the Devil."

"Unicron's the opposite of Primus," guessed Bailey, "right?"

"Yes," nodded Sentinel.

"So when is this upcoming impact?" asked Sharp.

"According to their calculations," answered Simmons, "the collision is in a few days."

"Unicron does not collide with a planet," warned Sentinel, "he consumes it."

"Then," suggested Bailey, "there has to be a way to stop this, right?"

"The relic has to be destroyed," advised Sentinel.

"Will that save the planet?" asked Bailey.

"It will send Unicron back out into deep space," answered Sentinel, "being a deity, he cannot be truly destroyed."

"So when do we infiltrate the warship?" clamored Bailey.

"I hadn't thought of that," sighed Sentinel.

"Bailey and I have been discussing the plan yesterday," mentioned Ironhide.

"I have that feeling everyone's looking at me again," muttered Sentinel, "I mean, yes, I'd feel the Matrix's energy, and thus find it faster, but…"

"We could send reinforcements to back you up in the event you should fight the Fallen again," assured Prowl, "and Bailey can Mega-Upgrade you, which will work to our advantage."

"All right, all right," groaned Sentinel, "I'll do it if it'll piss off the Fallen."

"Ok," replied Bailey, "I'll get ready to go!"

"You're going with them?" paused Akane.

"Yeah," nodded Bailey, "I came up with the idea, so why not?"

"And he just said she's gotta upgrade me," added Sentinel.

"Exactly," agreed Bailey, "I'll go get my shoes on!"

"And I'll get reinforcements," replied Ironhide.

Ironhide and Bailey left the hangar. The weapons specialists went to find reinforcements while Bailey returned to Sentinel's quarters to put her shoes and socks on. After a while of waiting, Ironhide returned with Arcee, Chromia, Elita and Smokescreen while Bailey returned with her shoes on.

"Ok," called Bailey, "I'm ready to go!"

"I'm ready as I'll ever be," nodded Sentinel.

Sentinel sauntered over to the vault and withdrew the Pillars before leading Bailey, Ironhide, Arcee, Chromia, Elita and Smokescreen outside, where he set up the Pillars.

"All right," asked Sentinel, "where are we going to?"

"We're infiltrating the Nemesis," reminded Ironhide, "it's part of Bailey's plan."

"I know that," mentioned Sentinel, "but I need coordinates."

"Wheeljack is locating the Nemesis as we speak," assured Smokescreen.

"Good," praised Sentinel.

After a short while, Wheeljack emerged from his quarters and approached Sentinel.

"I located the Nemesis," reported Wheeljack.

"Then let's go," ordered Sentinel.

Sentinel transferred the coordinates into the Control Pillar and pressed on the top of it, activating the space bridge. He scooped up Bailey before leading Ironhide, Arcee, Chromia, Elita and Smokescreen through the portal, taking them to a corridor in the Nemesis.

"So how are we going to locate this relic?" asked Bailey, "I know you said that you can feel the Matrix."

"I can," agreed Sentinel, "this way."

Sentinel led the Autobots down the corridor, sneaking past some Vehicons along the way. Before long, they could see the Forbidden Relic outside on the deck of the Nemesis, along with Megatron and the Fallen.

"Scrap," muttered Sentinel, "this means one of them has the Matrix."

Bailey gazed at the Forbidden Relic, the Fallen and Megatron for a moment until she saw the Matrix in the slot of the relic.

"I think I see it," whispered Bailey, "he used the Matrix to activate the relic."

"Then we have to get that relic," suggested Sentinel.

"How?" asked Smokescreen.

Sentinel didn't say anything, but he placed Bailey in Smokescreen's hands before charging at the Fallen, followed by Ironhide, Arcee, Chromia and Elita.

"YOU DAMN SLAGGER!" shouted Sentinel.

"Persistent," sneered the Fallen, "aren't you?"

"Persistent is my middle name," remarked Sentinel, "right after AFT KICKER!"

Sentinel slashed his Primax blade at the Forbidden Relic, destroying it completely and leaving the Matrix behind. The elder Prime managed to snatch it before Megatron could.

"How dare you touch this after what you did, Megatron!" scolded Sentinel.

Megatron aimed his charged cannon at Sentinel while he placed the Matrix into his subspace compartment.

"Stay out of this, Megatron," warned Sentinel, "this is between me and _Gorkonze_."

"You will not harm my master!" snarled Megatron.

"I am perfectly capable of fighting him, Megatron," assured the Fallen, "I am no coward. I don't run from a fight."

"Then bring your pretty face to my blade!" beckoned Sentinel.

Sentinel and the Fallen clashed their weapons while Ironhide, Arcee, Chromia and Elita surrounded Megatron.

"Decepticons," commanded Megatron, "attack!"

Upon cue, Vehicons swarmed past Smokescreen and ambushed Ironhide, Arcee, Chromia and Elita, forcing them to fight back. One of the Vehicons knocked Smokescreen to the ground, and Bailey fell out of his hand in the process.

"There you are, insect," sneered a Vehicon.

One of the Vehicons snatched Bailey, causing her to scream as it slipped her to the Fallen without Sentinel noticing, until…

"Let go of me!" shouted Bailey.

"Bailey," panicked Sentinel, "where are you?!"

The Fallen held Bailey in front of Sentinel as she struggled to free herself.

"Even if you have destroyed the relic," hissed the Fallen, "Unicron is still on his way here. If you don't hand over the Matrix of Leadership, I will kill your pet slowly and painfully in front of you!"

"NO," screamed Bailey, "DON'T LISTEN TO HIM!"

"She's not a PET, YOU SLAGGER!" roared Sentinel.

Sentinel suddenly seemed to activate the upgrade on his own as he slammed into Fallen, his optics blazing with fury and rage. The Fallen loosened his grip, allowing Bailey to escape the Fallen's grasp, sprint through the fray and return to Smokescreen.

"Sorry about that," asked Smokescreen, "you ok?"

"I was scared," answered Bailey, "but I'm fine."

"You made a huge mistake," snarled Sentinel, "taking both of my sons from me. For that, I found you guilty and sentence you to death!"

Sentinel reverted into his robot mode and stood over the Fallen with his Primax blade raised high over his head before he plunged it straight into the ancient Decepticon's spark. Even Megatron was impressed by his father's persistence and fury.

"Finally," sighed Bailey, "we got one problem out of the way!"

"Yes," nodded Sentinel, "let's get out of here."

Sentinel focused his optics on Megatron.

"I'll deal with you another day, Megatron," warned Sentinel, "you have my word on that."

By then, Ironhide, Arcee, Chromia and Elita have finished off most of the Vehicons on the deck. Sentinel pulled out the small control as the Autobots gathered around the elder Prime with Bailey still in Smokescreen's hands. He activated the small control, which activated the space bridge. He then led Ironhide, Smokescreen, Arcee, Chromia and Elita through the portal, taking them straight to base, where Akane was waiting. Smokescreen lowered Bailey to the ground.

"Akane," called Bailey, "we got the Matrix!"

"And the Fallen?" asked Akane.

Sentinel glanced at the Fallen's corpse and realized that he forgot to pull out his Primax blade and accidentally brought the body with him.

"Uh," stammered Sentinel, "dead."

"So that's the Fallen?" commented Akane.

"It _**was**_ the Fallen," nodded Sentinel, "now it's scrap metal."

While Sentinel pulled out his Primax blade, Bailey saw Bumblebee arrive at the base. Once the yellow Autobot stopped, Clayton, Olive and Fred emerged from the Camaro before he transformed into his robot mode.

"Hey, Bails," called Clayton, "did you see the news about the meteor?"

"No," replied Bailey, "but the meteor you're talking about is Unicron."

"Frag, I forgot about that," grumbled Sentinel, "we destroyed the Relic, but he's still here. Maybe I forgot something."

"Or maybe destroying the Relic didn't stop Unicron," assumed Bailey, "maybe we have to do something else."

"Well," asked Olive, "do you have any ideas?"

"Not really," admitted Bailey.

"There has to be a way," sighed Ironhide, "Optimus says every power, even the mightiest of deities, has its weaknesses."

"Well," replied Fred, "we know the dinosaurs became extinct after an asteroid hit the Earth 65 million years ago. I guess we're next."

"Wow," commented Sideswipe, "what an optimist you are."

"How is that optimistic?" objected Olive.

"He was being sarcastic," corrected Sunstreaker.

"There really is nothing we can do," muttered Clayton, "is there?"

"Wait," paused Bailey, "you guys are just giving up?"

"There's got to be a way," assured Sentinel, "there's just got to….Bailey, you've been keeping track, have we solved all the riddles?"

"The riddles I got gave us locations to the pieces of the relic," answered Bailey, "but I don't think they gave us instructions on how to stop Unicron. I wonder if there was a riddle that would allow us to do that; it just hasn't popped into my head, yet."

"Check your notebook," advised Sentinel, "maybe there's one we didn't use."

"Ok," nodded Bailey.

While Sentinel put away the Pillars, Bailey sprinted into the elder Prime's quarters and pulled out her notebook from the drawer of her desk. She scanned through the notebook, checking her writing for any clue. When Sentinel entered the quarters, Bailey reached a blank page.

"Sorry, Sentinel," reported Bailey, "but I couldn't find the riddle that would tell us how to stop the apocalypse."

"Is there any at all that we haven't used?" asked Sentinel.

Bailey shook her head.

"I know I translated the riddles with your help," answered Bailey, "but I think we used all the ones I wrote down."

Angry, Sentinel kicked over a pile of oil drums, startling Bailey.

"Damn it!" yelled Sentinel.

Sentinel glanced up at the sky, where Unicron was.

"Don't even think you've won," snarled Sentinel, "if I have to come up there myself and personally kick your aft, I will."

Bailey put away her notebook and was about to set up her PS4, but then she suddenly remembered that Sentinel has the Matrix now, so she approached the elder Prime.

"Sentinel?" called Bailey.

"Yes?" replied Sentinel.

"Can I borrow the Matrix for a moment?" requested Bailey.


	7. Message from the Primes

Sentinel stared at Bailey in confusion for a long moment, not understanding why she made such a request.

"What do you need it for?" asked Sentinel.

"Even if I don't have a riddle we haven't used yet," explained Bailey, "I think I know what to do with the Matrix at the moment. You'll thank me later."

"All right," nodded Sentinel, "here you go."

Sentinel pulled the Matrix out of his subspace compartment, knelt down to Bailey's level and placed it into her hands.

"Ok," beckoned Bailey, "follow me!"

Bailey sprinted out of the quarters, compelling Sentinel to follow her outside. She led the elder Prime into Optimus's living quarters.

"Why are we in here?" asked Sentinel.

"I'll show you," answered Bailey, "could you help me up?"

Sentinel nodded and scooped up Bailey. He set her down on the berth where Optimus's body was laying. She climbed up onto his chest, raised the Matrix into the air and plunged it into his spark chamber. This action reignited his spark as the Autobot leader's optics lit up.

"I was right," smiled Bailey, "it worked."

"O-Optimus?" gasped Sentinel, optics wide in shock.

Optimus groaned as he sat up, compelling Bailey to slide off his chest and onto the berth. There was a loud clang as Sentinel fell backward, having fainted from surprise.

"Sentinel!" panicked Bailey.

Bailey focused her eyes on Optimus.

"Is he going to be ok?" asked Bailey.

"I believe he's done what humans call fainting," assured Optimus.

"Oh," replied Bailey, "so he must've been surprised. Could you lower me down?"

"Of course," nodded Optimus.

Optimus scooped up Bailey, stood up from his berth and knelt down before setting her onto the ground. After a moment of silence, Sentinel groaned as he sat up.

"Optimus," stammered Sentinel, "you….how?"

"I think you should ask Bailey," suggested Optimus, optics focusing on Bailey.

"How?" paused Sentinel, "oh, who fraggin' cares? Optimus!"

Sentinel leapt up and hugged his child, happy tears flowing from his optics.

"Thank you, Sentinel," smiled Optimus.

"You should not thank me," advised Sentinel, "I am the one who failed you. You should thank Bailey instead."

Optimus turned his glance at Bailey.

"Thank you, Bailey," praised Optimus, "for saving my life."

"You're welcome," chirped Bailey, "I thought it would make Sentinel happy since he missed you."

"I thought I lost him forever," smiled Sentinel, "thank you."

"I'm glad you're happy," replied Bailey, "now all we have to do is to take out Unicron."

"Oh yes, I forgot," warned Sentinel, "Optimus, Unicron is coming."

"How?" asked Optimus.

"The Fallen found the Relic and summoned him," explained Sentinel, "we have already destroyed the relic, and for taking both my sons from me, the Fallen was ended by my blade. But, it was quick and painless. I am not cruel enough to do it otherwise."

"I'll check my database in my computer terminal for clues," suggested Optimus, "and maybe we could trigger the symbols so Bailey can find the next riddle."

"That's why I was going to play a video game," nodded Bailey, "since I've only received the symbols whenever I play video games."

"Then by all means," agreed Sentinel, "I….would like to speak with Optimus anyway."

"Ok," nodded Bailey, "I'll go get my 3DS."

Bailey left the quarters while both Primes stood to their feet.

"I'm so sorry, Optimus," muttered Sentinel, tears falling down his face, "I'm so sorry I failed you, my son."

Sentinel lowered his head and even let his shoulders sag. For once, he looked much older than he was, and he seemed to shrink down into himself, looking smaller than Optimus. Guilt ridden, he couldn't even look Optimus in the optics. The Autobot leader gently hugged the elder Prime, sympathy glistening in his optics.

"I don't blame you, _Nasutn'on_ ," assured Optimus.

For the first time, their roles were reversed. Now it was Sentinel who said nothing and instead hid his face against Optimus, clinging to him as if for dear life, letting out everything he'd held in since Optimus had died, making the Autobot leader realize just how much the elder Prime needed the younger Prime with him in life. Optimus smiled and kissed his father's head.

"I just," stammered Sentinel, "I love you, Optimus…so much, your ma would be so proud of you…..I just hate seeing you get hurt. I wished he had taken me instead…..I wished I had died…I would gladly, without regret, die for you, Optimus. My sole regret would be the pain you would be in…..I love you, my little _Orion Pax_."

"I love you, too," smiled Optimus, "Sentinel."

Sentinel smiled. Sure, he knew Unicron still had to be dealt with, but for just this night, he wanted to be with his child. Just the two of them, father and son, happy and safe, if only for just this night.

"I know only sparklings ask this," requested Sentinel, "but….would you mind if I stay with you tonight?"

"Yes, you may," nodded Optimus.

Just then, Bailey returned with her 3DS in her hand.

"Sentinel, I hate to bother you like this," called Bailey, "but I let Clayton, Olive and Fred play Mario Kart back at your place. Can I stay here for the night after dinner?"

"Fine," Sentinel sighed reluctantly.

Bailey stashed her 3DS into her pocket and exited the quarters to heat up her dinner while Sentinel fetched an energon cube for Optimus. After a while, Bailey returned while bringing a couple sets of clothes with her. She scurried to a corner so neither Optimus or Sentinel would see her change into her pajamas. Once she finished, she approached the two Primes as the younger Prime settled into the berth. Upon cue, the elder Prime scooped up Bailey and nestled into the berth next to Optimus as she lied down between both father and son and turned on the 3DS.

"Could you keep the volume low?" requested Optimus.

"Ok," nodded Bailey, "I will."

Sentinel and Optimus drifted off to sleep as Bailey turned down the volume before playing The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D, hoping it would trigger some symbols in her head.

* * *

_That night, Bailey found herself wandering through an abandoned city. So far, she couldn't find any signs of any humans or even the Autobots; not even Sentinel. Maybe some natural disaster wiped them out and she's the only one left? Bailey sprinted through the empty streets, making turns around the occasional corner. For some reason, she hoped that there would still be at least one person around, so she wouldn't be alone. Eventually, she noticed that she has reached the city limits, so she sprinted out of the city, hoping that there would be someone out there._

_Once Bailey sprinted as far away from the city as possible, she found herself in some sort of valley. To add to her surprise, massive robotic beings sat on pedestals as the sun shone over them like a halo. Out of curiosity, she approached one of the beings and crouched in front of its foot, waiting for it to respond. It wasn't long before the being stood to its feet, causing her to yelp and jump back, as if startled. The next thing she knew, she saw the other robotic beings stand to their feet, so she scrambled backwards, only to find that she was surrounded by them._

" _W-What are you guys?!" warbled Bailey._

" _We've been waiting for you, young human," said one of the beings._

" _That still does not answer my question," reminded Bailey._

" _We are the original Thirteen Primes of Cybertron," answered another being._

" _We had hoped that you would help the Autobots recover the relic," added one of the Primes, "and we praise your bravery for helping them destroy it."_

" _Oh," chuckled Bailey, "thanks."_

" _However," continued another Prime, "it seems that Unicron is still impending arrival, so we came here to tell you of a technology that can amplify the power of the Matrix to send Unicron back into the depths of space."_

" _Wait," paused Bailey, "you mean there's still hope?"_

" _Yes," nodded a Prime, "but you will have to figure out the location on your own."_

" _You mean I have to solve a riddle?" clarified Bailey._

_The Primes nodded._

" _Three kings 'neath the sky," said one of the Primes._

" _Guard a gateway wherein lies," continued another Prime._

" _Vault of power in silent tomb," added yet another Prime._

" _Retrieve its key or all are doomed," concluded even another Prime._

_Bailey scratched her head while trying to figure out the answer to the riddle. She remembered that the key might be the Matrix of Leadership, and then realized that these kings are called pharaohs in Egypt. There is only one obvious answer for this riddle._

" _The Great Pyramids of Giza?" answered Bailey._

" _You are a smart young human," praised one of the Primes, "now you must reach the location before Unicron consumes your world."_

" _So it was you guys who have been sending me these riddles," paused Bailey, "wasn't it?"_

_The Primes nodded._

" _We have noticed that the AllSpark has chosen you to become one of its bearers," explained one of the Primes, "and you share a bond with a Prime that has long descended. That is why we were able to reach you."_

" _Oh, now I get it," clarified Bailey, "you're referring to Sentinel."_

_The Primes didn't say anything further, but they took a few steps back as the light grew more intense, as if it was cloaking them._

* * *

Bailey slowly opened her eyes, only to find that she had been dreaming, considering that she was laying in between Optimus and Sentinel. She gently tapped the elder Prime's face, prompting him to wake up.

"Bailey?" paused Sentinel.

"Sentinel," replied Bailey, "I have something important that I want to tell you."

"What is it?" asked Sentinel.

"I met the original Primes in my dream," explained Bailey, "they told me that there is a hidden technology in the Great Pyramids of Giza that we can use to save this planet."

"Optimus, wake up," whispered Sentinel, "it's important; very important."

Optimus groaned as he opened his optics.

"Yes, Da?" replied Optimus.

"We know how to stop Unicron," explained Sentinel.

"We do?" paused Optimus.

"Yes," nodded Sentinel, "tell us, Bailey."

"The original Primes told me that there is a technology inside one of the Great Pyramids of Giza that we can use to stop Unicron," explained Bailey, "they also said that it requires the Matrix of Leadership for it to work."

"Then what are we waiting for?" requested Sentinel, "let's go while we have the cover of darkness."

Bailey turned on her 3DS and checked the time.

"It's 5:35 in the morning," muttered Bailey, "I'd better get some breakfast."

"Can you wait until we get back?" advised Sentinel, "the sooner we go, the more time we'll have unnoticed. We want to be done and gone before the site opens to tourists."

"Geez, fine," sighed Bailey, "just let me get changed."

Sentinel scooped up Bailey as both Primes got out of the berth. The elder Prime set Bailey down and glanced away, allowing her to change clothes.

"Ok," called Bailey, "I'm ready to go!"

Sentinel, Optimus and Bailey stepped outside, only to be greeted by Akane, Bumblebee, Smokescreen, Elita, Ironhide, Chromia, Arcee, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker.

"Whoa," exclaimed Bailey, "what are you guys doing out here?!"

"We woke up early," explained Akane, "so we can help you when you need us. Your friends are still asleep, though."

Bumblebee focused his optics on Optimus.

"Oh, wait," paused Bumblebee, "is that Optimus?"

"So he's back," smiled Elita, relieved.

"But how?" objected Smokescreen.

"I used the Matrix to bring him back," admitted Bailey, "and it worked."

"So," asked Sideswipe, "what's the plan?"

"Bailey has learned of a technology that we can use to send Unicron back into outer space and save the Earth," answered Sentinel.

"When do we leave?" insisted Sunstreaker.

"The sooner," replied Optimus, "the better."

Sentinel wandered into the hangar to withdraw the Pillars while Akane's butler pushed a cart carrying a teapot and some teacups outside.

"Would you like some tea before you go," offered the butler, "Ozaki-sama?"

"Of course, sir," nodded Akane.

"I'd like to try some, too," clamored Bailey.

"As you wish, ma'am," smiled the butler.

The butler poured some tea into two cups, allowing Akane and Bailey to stir in some sugar with their spoons. After that, they drank from their cups.

"This should hold us until breakfast," assured Akane.

"I agree," nodded Bailey, "this tea is really delicious."

"I'm glad you enjoy it," replied the butler.

As Bailey and Akane finished drinking their tea, Sentinel emerged with the Pillars in his possession. He set them up and transferred the coordinates to the Control Pillar.

"It seems that the fate of the world rests in your hands, Ozaki-sama," said the butler.

"Not just me," remarked Akane, "but also Bailey, Sentinel and Optimus, who was just revived by the Matrix, according to Bailey's plan."

"Commencing transport!" announced Sentinel.

Sentinel pressed on the top of the Control Pillar, activating the space bridge.

"Looks like it's time to go," commented Bailey, "we'll see you when we get back!"

Sentinel scooped up Bailey and Akane before leading Optimus, Bumblebee, Smokescreen, Ironhide, Arcee, Chromia, Elita, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker through the portal. After a short moment, the space bridge deactivated while the Pillars still floated slightly above the ground.


	8. Light Our Darkest Hour

Sentinel, Optimus, Bailey, Akane, Bumblebee, Ironhide, Smokescreen, Sideswipe, Arcee, Chromia and Elita arrived in Egypt via the space bridge. Ahead, they could see the Great Pyramids of Giza. The elder Prime set down Bailey and Akane while glancing around the area.

"Now which pyramid has the technology we're looking for?" pondered Bailey.

"Let's head over there," suggested Sentinel, "and I bet one of them is marked so that the Cybertronian who hid the technology here would know where to find it again."

Sentinel transformed into his alternate mode.

"I don't recommend you humans walk there, though," continued Sentinel.

Bailey and Akane hopped into the Rosenbauer Panther as the other Autobots transformed into their alternate modes. They all drove towards one of the pyramids until the Constructicons suddenly blocked their path.

"Out of the way," shouted Bailey, "you bastard!"

"Oh, come on," groaned Sentinel, "it's 5 a.m.! Don't these idiots ever recharge?!"

"We're in a different time zone," reminded Akane, "remember?"

Just as Akane finished her sentence, they saw the Constructicons merge into what appears to be a gigantic robotic monster.

"Oh, great," grumbled Sentinel, "hold on!"

Sentinel floored the gas petal, shooting across the sand, right between the monster's legs. He let the humans out on the other side of the pyramid.

"You two find an entrance that leads to the tech," advised Sentinel, "we'll take care of the Decepticons."

Bailey and Akane sprinted into the entrance of the pyramid as Sentinel transformed into his robot mode, his Primax blade at the ready. Just as he was charging into battle, he saw zombie-like robots falling out of the sky, apparently from Unicron.

"Primus help us," whispered Sentinel.

Sentinel ran out to join the other Autobots.

"TERRORCONS!" shouted Sentinel, "INCOMING TERRORCONS!"

"Oh, great," groaned Arcee, "as if that's going to make my day."

"Slice and dice," replied Sentinel, "the smaller the pieces, the better."

Optimus and Sentinel charged at Devastator as the giant Decepticon started climbing up the pyramid while Bumblebee, Smokescreen, Ironhide, Arcee, Chromia, Elita, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker began fighting the Terrorcons.

"Stay with me, Optimus," instructed Sentinel, "I'm not losing you again."

"Understood," nodded Optimus.

Optimus plunged his energon blade into one of Devastator's legs, causing it to roar in pain. Sentinel jumped on its back and began stabbing it repeatedly. The massive Decepticon shook him off, but the elder Prime managed to land on his feet. Devastator continued to climb up the pyramid until it reached the top. It then began pummeling the top of the pyramid with its claw.

"It's going after the weapon!" gasped Optimus.

"Scrap!" exclaimed Sentinel.

Sentinel scrambled up towards the top, only to have Devastator grab him in its mouth. Optimus could only watch as the elder Prime was thrown screaming into another pyramid, where he then tumbled down the side and lay still at the bottom. The Autobot leader scrambled underneath the massive Decepticon and stabbed its chest with his energon blade. The creature roared in pain, energon pouring from its wound and running down the side of the pyramid to where Sentinel still lay, unmoving. Optimus slid down the pyramid and rushed to Sentinel's side just as the elder Prime came to.

"Are you all right?" asked Optimus.

"I'm getting too old for this slag," groaned Sentinel.

Optimus helped Sentinel to his feet before inspecting Devastator's corpse.

"At least we have one problem taken care of," commented Optimus.

"Yeah," reminded Sentinel, "but now we're surrounded by more."

Of course, Optimus noticed that he and Sentinel were enclosed in a ring of Terrorcons. Both Primes began hacking through the Terrorcons with their blades.

"Have I mentioned…ugh," groaned Sentinel, "how much….I fraggin' _**hate**_ these things?"

Sentinel sliced off one's head and another's arm in a single blow. Optimus blew off another Terrorcon's head with his gun.

"Of course," smirked Sentinel.

Sentinel pulled out his Cosmic Rust gun.

"See how you like this, Cons!" thundered Sentinel.

Sentinel fired his Cosmic Rust gun at the Terrorcons as they approached him, having to climb over their fallen, rusting brethren. The Primes fought through the Terrorcons until they regrouped with the other Autobots.

"About time you showed up," sighed Ironhide, "it's like this is never going to end!"

"We can only hope Bailey and Akane have found the technology soon," replied Elita.

"It won't matter if we can't get the Matrix over there," instructed Sentinel, "I can't believe I'm suggesting this, but….Optimus, you have the Matrix. Go, we'll cover you. Hurry!"

Upon cue, Optimus fought through the Terrorcons as he raced towards the pyramid.

* * *

Meanwhile, Akane and Bailey took only a moment to rest after reaching the King's Chamber.

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" panted Akane.

Bailey inspected her bracer, which has been flickering since they entered the pyramid.

"I'm sure of it," nodded Bailey, "we must be getting close."

"Let's search this chamber," suggested Akane, "I wonder how they're doing out there."

"Ok," agreed Bailey.

Bailey and Akane wandered around the room in search off anything suspicious. However, the only interesting thing around here was the sarcophagus. Bailey approached the sarcophagus, and much to her surprise, her bracer reacted strongly to it.

"Maybe it's here," said Bailey.

Bailey brought her bracer just before the sarcophagus. Suddenly, she and Akane felt rumbling from the ground.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Bailey, "what's happening?!"

The walls around them began shifting and changing, peeling back revealing a huge metal framework around them. The stone that made up the pyramid simply crumbled away, revealing a structure that was definitely not ancient Egyptian. It also revealed the battle going on outside, something they wished they hadn't seen.

Optimus was running towards them with what seemed like a tidal wave of Terrorcons following him. As they watched, the swarm enveloped the other Autobots. Optimus paused when he heard a scream and turned around to see Sentinel engulfed by the oncoming wave.

"Sentinel!" panicked Optimus.

The swarm surged towards him. Much as it hurt to leave the others behind, he knew what Sentinel would tell him to do. With the Matrix in his hand, Optimus sprinted the rest of the way to the amplifier, where the humans, who had seen the whole thing, were waiting.

"Optimus," called Bailey, "do you know how to operate this thing?"

"I pray to Primus I do," replied Optimus.

Optimus found a slot in the amplifier. He inserted the Matrix into the slot without hesitation.

"Please," muttered Optimus, "let this work."

As if upon cue, the amplifier lit up just as Unicron began opening its mouth and began descending down into Earth's atmosphere.

"Oh no," panicked Bailey, "don't tell me Unicron is going to try eating this planet just now! I thought we had two days!"

"That is exactly what he's doing," whispered Optimus.

"Maybe he's sensing the amplifier," assumed Akane.

Bailey and Akane could see the amplifier generate electricity at the tips as it began charging up.

"Come on!" shouted Akane.

As the amplifier continued charging up, Bailey and Akane felt the ground rumble, forcing them to hold onto the machine.

"Hurry up!" groaned Optimus.

Soon, the amplifier finished charging up enough power, and Optimus noticed a lever appeared out of another slot. He quickly pulled the lever, and as luck would have it, the amplifier fired a powerful beam directly into Unicron's mouth. This triggered explosions from within Unicron as it receded from the planet, teleporting itself away in the process. The swarm of Terrorcons suddenly stopped, as if confused. Suddenly, a Primax blade broke through the swarm, followed by the battle cry of its wielder and the other Autobots who appeared behind him.

"Was that Sentinel?" gasped Bailey.

Sure enough, the huge red mech was slicing a path through the Terrorcons. Bailey and Akane let go of the machine as Optimus removed the Matrix from the slot.

"Fraggin' disgusting things," snarled Sentinel.

Optimus returned the Matrix into his spark chamber and then scooped up Bailey and Akane.

"You did it, Optimus," called Sentinel, "you did it!"

Nodding in agreement, Optimus slid down the pyramid and set Bailey and Akane down onto the ground just outside the horde of Terrorcons.

"Wait here," commanded Optimus.

Bailey and Akane sprinted to a safe distance as Optimus stood to his feet and extended his energon blade. Sentinel continued slashing at the Terrorcons, compelling Optimus to join the fray.

"This is too easy now that they're all confused," smirked Sentinel, "we're mowing them down."

"So shall we clear them out and get out of here before the humans take notice?" asked Ironhide.

Sentinel glanced at the pyramid.

"Um, yeah," nodded Sentinel, "that would be best."

Bailey and Akane watched as Sentinel, Optimus, Ironhide, Bumblebee, Smokescreen, Arcee, Chromia, Elita, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker took out the last horde of Terrorcons.

"Let's get the frag out of here," advised Sentinel.

Sentinel pulled out the small control and activated the space bridge as Bailey and Akane sprinted towards the Autobots. They all went through the space bridge, taking them back to base. Once the elder Prime turned off the Pillars, he knelt down to Bailey's level and scooped her into his hand.

"Not exactly the best morning ever," said Sentinel, "but we have effectively stopped the apocalypse."

"I should thank Optimus for using the amplifier to get the job done," smiled Akane.

"Well," reminded Sentinel, "if Bailey hadn't learned of the technology from the original Primes, Earth would've been destroyed by now."

"Wait until everyone else on base hears about this," smirked Bailey.

Just then, Bailey saw Clayton emerge from the elder Prime's quarters.

"Oh," called Bailey, "morning, Clay!"

"Bails," asked Clayton, "did you feel that mini earthquake a few minutes ago?"

"It was intense at Egypt," answered Bailey.

"Egypt?" paused Sentinel, "this is New England."

"What I meant is that we went to Egypt to save the world," clarified Bailey.

"So you stopped that unicorn thing?" asked Clayton.

Bailey burst into laughter.

"It's Unicron," corrected Bailey, "not unicorn!"

Sentinel struggled to hold in his laughter, while also trying not to drop Bailey.

"So," asked Bailey, "anyone up for breakfast? I'm starting to get hungry."

"Of course," nodded Sentinel.

Sentinel lowered Bailey to the ground just as Olive and Fred emerged from the elder Prime's quarters.

"Hey," called Olive, "where can we get a shower?"

"I'll show you where the stalls are," offered Bailey.

"I need to get some gas," grumbled Sentinel.

Sentinel focused his optics on Sideswipe and Sunstreaker as Bailey led Olive into the hangar.

"SHUT UP," shouted Sentinel, "SIDESWIPE AND SUNSTREAKER!"

"What?" warbled Sideswipe, "we didn't say anything!"

"I know you were thinking it," growled Sentinel, glaring at the twins, "I know you two."

"Ok, ok," grumbled Sunstreaker, "we won't make the joke."

"You better not," warned Sentinel, "I'll find out if you do."

Just then, Ratchet emerged from the medical bay and noticed Optimus was standing while focusing his optics on Sentinel.

"What now, Ratchet?" groaned Sentinel.

"Optimus?" gasped Ratchet, "but how?"

"Bailey used the Matrix," explained Sentinel.

"I told you her plan would work," smirked Ironhide.

"Wait," paused Sentinel, "you knew about this? And no one thought to tell _**me**_ that? We could've had him back sooner, you numbskull!"

"We could've had you teleport us to the Nemesis earlier," mentioned Ironhide, "but not even Bailey was able to get you moving until the Fallen showed up at the base."

"Which wouldn't have been an issue if I'd known I could get Optimus back!" countered Sentinel.

"I guess that should serve as a reminder for next time," sighed Ratchet.

"For now," replied Optimus, "we should focus on ending the war."

"And figure out if we should relocate now that the Decepticons know where the base is," added Smokescreen.

"Already on it," assured a familiar womanly voice.

Sentinel focused his optics on Mearing, who just emerged from the hangar.

"Did you—" asked Sentinel.

"Yes," nodded Mearing.

Just then, Bailey and Olive emerged from the hangar.

"Should we wake up Lennox and Epps so we can take them to get breakfast?" asked Bumblebee.

"Yeah," answered Sentinel, "sure."

Bailey returned to Sentinel's quarters while Bumblebee entered the hangar. It was only a while before the yellow Autobot returned with Lennox and Epps following him.

"They were already awake," reported Bumblebee, "and I told them what we did."

"How come you didn't wake us up so we could help you out?" demanded Lennox.

"Not to mention the little earthquake that woke us up," mentioned Epps.

"Ah," admitted Sentinel, "that's my fault, actually."

"That's ok," assured Lennox.

Bailey emerged from the quarters while carrying her handbag.

"So," asked Clayton, "where should we go for breakfast?"

"How about Denny's?" suggested Fred.

"Who's driving?" objected Olive.

"We can ask Sentinel and Optimus to give us a lift," answered Epps.

Both Primes transformed and opened their doors. Akane, Bailey and Mearing hopped into the Rosenbauer Panther while Lennox, Epps, Clayton, Olive and Fred hopped into the Peterbilt semi truck.

"All right," advised Sentinel, "no backseat driving."

Sentinel led Optimus out of the base and down the road on the way to Denny's.


	9. Relocating the Autobots

Later that morning, after breakfast, Sentinel, Optimus, Akane, Bailey, Lennox, Epps, Mearing, Morshower, Sharp and Simmons gathered at the hangar while Bumblebee, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker escorted Clayton, Olive and Fred home.

"Guess what I just heard from NASA?" reported Morshower, "that big metal meteor just disappeared."

"That would be our doing," admitted Bailey.

"Good," smiled Morshower, "then I don't need to tell the military."

"Do you have any plans on where we should relocate the Autobots?" asked Akane.

"Well," suggested Morshower, "there's Diego Garcia island."

"Why not negotiate with the officials to let us rent a base in Washington DC?" objected Simmons.

"Yeah," commented Sharp, "that's only a long drive away."

"But can we keep them on the DL there?" added Morshower.

"I hope so," replied Epps.

"I'll call about it," advised Mearing, "regardless, everyone needs to be packed up and ready to move in a split second."

"I think I may need some help packing up my stuff," stammered Bailey.

"We can put it in with mine if you want," assured Sentinel, "I don't have that much."

"Thanks, Sentinel!" smiled Bailey.

"Not a problem," replied Sentinel.

Suddenly, Bailey remembered that her friends know of the Autobots.

"Oh, wait," paused Bailey, "Clayton, Fred and Olive know about the Autobots and Decepticons, too. What should we do with them?"

"We will assign them Autobot guardians," answered Optimus, "and relocate them as well."

"Awesome!" chirped Bailey.

"All right," asked Sentinel, "where are we moving to?"

"I'll talk to the officials in DC about renting a base there," offered Mearing.

"As long as we are nowhere near the Amazon," nodded Sentinel, "I'm good."

Soon, the Autobots spent the next few hours packing up for a long trip. Sentinel helped Bailey pack her items along with his, careful not to damage any of the electronics.

"Is that everything?" asked Sentinel.

Bailey inspected what used to be her living space, and she couldn't find any stray item on the ground.

"We're good," answered Bailey.

"All right, then," replied Sentinel.

As Sentinel walked out, she noticed a photo on the ground, which was large to her. It showed an exhausted looking Sentinel in what looked like a medical center, laying in a bed of sterile white sheets, holding something tiny and blue in his arms.

"Is that Optimus?" whispered Bailey.

When Bailey looked closer, she could make out tiny hands, little audials, and the slits of little closed optics. She tried picking it up, but it was rather heavy.

"Bailey," called Sentinel, "you coming?!"

Bailey let go of the photo and sprinted outside.

"Sentinel," said Bailey, "I think I saw a photo on the ground."

"So?" replied Sentinel.

"It's of you," explained Bailey, "are you really going to leave it behind?"

"Of me?" paused Sentinel.

Sentinel ran back into the warehouse and noticed the photo on the ground.

"Ohhhhhh…ohhhhhh," exclaimed Sentinel, "Primus, I've been looking for that!"

Sentinel picked up the photo and stashed it into his subspace compartment before heading outside.

"I'm sorry," asked Bailey, "was I not allowed to look at it?"

"No, no," answered Sentinel, "I just…I-I thought I'd lost it. It's very…..special to me."

"Oh," smiled Bailey, "I have to admit, Optimus looked really cute in that picture."

"He was," agreed Sentinel, "he was so small, I was almost afraid to hold him, thinking I'd hurt him. Then…..he gave his first smile, and I melted right there."

Bailey could see the rest of the Autobots have finished packing up, with the truck drivers attaching the trailers to their semi trucks.

"Well," stammered Sentinel, "I…I guess we'd better get going."

Sentinel transformed into his alternate mode, allowing Bailey to climb inside. She buckled up and set her handbag just at her feet while she noticed some of the soldiers climbing into military trucks and the other Autobots transforming into their alternate modes.

"I don't think I'll be meeting the President along the way," Bailey said to herself.

"What?" interrupted Sentinel.

"I was just thinking out loud," chuckled Bailey.

"About what?" demanded Sentinel, "I'm pretty sure we are the _**last**_ people the President wants to see."

"That's what I was thinking, sort of," replied Bailey.

After a moment of silence, the Autobots and the military trucks drove out of the base and down the road while Bailey began playing Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D.

"Oh, good," smirked Sentinel, "we're getting a police escort. This means no fraggin' traffic and no sitting through red lights."

"Let's hope there are no accidents along the way," teased Bailey.

"Yeah," nodded Sentinel.

* * *

After a few hours have passed, Laserbeak flew into the base and began surveying it. Much to his surprise, there was no one around.

"It appears that the Autobots have relocated," commented Laserbeak, "this is not good, not good at all."

Laserbeak flew back towards Soundwave, who was standing outside the base.

"They're gone," reported Laserbeak, "not a trace left. It's as if they were never here."

"Lord Megatron will want to hear about this," replied Soundwave.

"Yes," nodded Laserbeak, "he will."

Soundwave activated a ground bridge and walked through it, taking him to the bridge of the Nemesis, where Megatron and Saburou were waiting.

"The Autobots are no longer at the base," said Soundwave.

"That's a shame," smirked Saburou.

"Why is that?" asked Soundwave.

"I was hoping to take them prisoner and torture them in the cruelest way possible," explained Saburou.

"And what could you do to them?" insisted Megatron.

"We have the electric prods," answered Saburou.

"Why did you join us, anyway?" sighed Megatron.

"Since your plan to eradicate the Autobots have failed," replied Saburou, "I have a plan of my own."

"Let's hear it, then," commanded Megatron.

"My father created this organization my sister's running in hopes of ensuring equality of women and men," explained Saburou, "but I think women are just nothing but inferior who should exist to serve men and have their babies. I want to create an empire that will span the entire planet, so that the women will lose the rights they have now and be demoted to being property. And the most inferior races such as the blacks and Latinos will do the dirty work; building foundations for the superior races like white and Asian men. I also want to eradicate the homosexuals, the transsexuals and those awful lesbians."

"You do realize _**all**_ members of your race are worthless to me," commented Megatron, "do you not? _**All**_ humans, male and female, no matter their race, no matter their anything. Your goals are of no use to me."

"Hmm," grinned Saburou, "maybe a little cooperation will be enough for you to see my point. In fact, I have some allies that I want to introduce you to. Maybe you can help make my empire possible."

Megatron growled in Saburou's face.

"This is not your planet to rule," roared Megatron, "when the Autobots are gone, the ruler of this world will be _**me**_! Even you will bow before me! You will have no empire, insect! Even in death, there will be no rule but mine!"

Saburou only burst into laughter.

"You never cease to amuse me," smirked Saburou, "maybe I can be your little advisor?"

"Lord Megatron does not take advice from lesser organisms," objected Soundwave.

"Besides," added Megatron, "Soundwave serves as my 'advisor'. The only reason you are still alive is due to the possibility that I _**might**_ still have some use for you. I will terminate you the minute I tire of you or you cease being useful to me."

"After you put the women back in their place of being the homemaker?" clarified Saburou.

"I wonder where you even got that attitude," pondered Megatron.

* * *

A few days have passed since the Autobots have dispatched Unicron. Bailey was glad that the government provided a base for the Autobots at Washington DC, although it will be a while before Clayton, Olive and Fred finish relocating. Most of the Autobots' living quarters and the medical bay have been renovated since the furniture they brought was easy for them to install and Bailey had her living space set up in Sentinel's quarters. At the moment, she was brushing her hair when Sentinel entered the room while taking a sip from his energon cube.

"You ever wonder what's going to happen next?" asked Sentinel.

"Not that I know of," answered Bailey, "apart from the fact that we need to restore Cybertron and end the war."

"Yeah, there's that," replied Sentinel, "Bailey…I need to know….if I were to…pass on…..would you be ok?"

There was a moment of silence as the thought of Sentinel not being here tormented her mind. Bailey wasn't sure what she would do without him. As far as she knew, they have been growing closer since the day she began their relationship.

"I…don't know," stammered Bailey.

"I ask because…..well," explained Sentinel, "there's a very real chance that could happen. I want to know that you won't….do anything that…..I wouldn't want you to do."

"Like what?" insisted Bailey.

"Like," clarified Sentinel, "trying to hurt yourself, or….not letting yourself eventually move on."

"Why would I do the second example?" objected Bailey.

"Some people don't move on," answered Sentinel.

Bailey set down the hairbrush and approached Sentinel before hugging his leg.

"I hope what you said about passing on…doesn't happen to you," stammered Bailey, "not in the near future."

"I hope the same," replied Sentinel, "but I've had to realize that in times of war, any given day could be your last."

Bailey didn't say anything, but she nuzzled her face against Sentinel's leg. He gently reached down and stroked her back. He was glad they didn't share a spark bond yet. He didn't want her to know the sinking feeling he had in his spark or the foreboding message of his death that he had received from the Matrix. After a while, Bailey released her embrace.

"So," asked Bailey, "are you ready to go, yet?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm ready," purred Sentinel, "come on, let's go have some fun, eh? Maybe I'll even…..let you drive."

"I still haven't learned how to drive yet," stammered Bailey.

"Not a normal car," assured Sentinel, "but, there's more to this car than meets the eye."

Bailey grabbed her handbag before following Sentinel out of his quarters and down the corridor until they reached the hangar. Just then, they noticed that Lennox was about to head outside with some luggage in his hand.

"Hey, Lennox," called Bailey, "where are you going?"

Lennox focused his eyes on Bailey.

"Going home to see my wife and little girl," answered Lennox.

"Oh, Sarah and Anna?" clarified Bailey, "Anna looked so cute in that picture you showed me!"

"Yep," nodded Lennox, "that's them. Gotta go, seeya!"

Lennox raced out of the hangar within an instant while Bailey focused her eyes on Sentinel.

"He's just excited," commented Sentinel.

"Just as much as we are?" teased Bailey.

"Yes," chuckled Sentinel, "I guess so."

Sentinel transformed into his alternate mode, compelling Bailey to hop inside.

"So," asked Sentinel, "where to, my lady?"

"Maybe in a secluded area at the nearest lake?" suggested Bailey.

"I can do that," agreed Sentinel, "one secluded spot by a nice lake coming right up. Don't you dare cut in front of me, Mr. Little Red Sports Car."

Sentinel drove out of the base and down the road. It was only a long while before they reached a lake.

"How about this one?" asked Sentinel.

"It looks perfect!" chirped Bailey.

Bailey hopped out of the Rosenbauer Panther as he transformed into his robot mode. Fortunately, no one else was around.

"Okay, good," sighed Sentinel, "no one's going to see me."

Sentinel sat down, allowing Bailey to climb into his lap. The elder Prime lay down on his back, stretching his legs out until his feet touched the water. She crawled up to his chest and began stroking the smooth wires that made up his beard. He shuttered his optics, the familiar purring sound spreading through his body. While she continued to stroke his beard, Bailey kissed his face.

"I love you, Sentinel," whispered Bailey.

"I love you too, _ma sanarya_ ," smiled Sentinel.

Smiling, Bailey hugged Sentinel's face as she watched the birds fly through the sky. She hoped that the war would end soon, and that she would help restore Cybertron when the time comes. For now, she could just relax and enjoy the peaceful moment she has with the ancient Prime, knowing that she's safe by his side.


End file.
